Department for Transport

Driving Tests

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the validity of the two year driving theory test.

Trudy Harrison: It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time. The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a candidate’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it. Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the preparation of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Learners will therefore need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Recruitment

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to help increase the number of people working in the HGV sector.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has put in place 32 specific measures to deal with the shortage of HGV drivers. These include funding for apprenticeships, 11,000 places on Skills Bootcamp training backed by £34 million, increasing the supply of vocational driving tests, prioritising vocational driving licence applications, and investing £32.5 million in roadside facilities for HGV drivers. These are listed on gov.uk. Our measures are working. The number of available HGV driving tests has increased by 90% compared to pre-pandemic levels and currently stands at 3,200 tests per week. Test capacity now exceeds demand and the provision of vocational tests is not a barrier to people becoming HGV drivers. Despite the increase in vocational driving licence applications and licence renewals, there are no delays in processing and all new applications are being processed within five working days, unless further medical checks are required. Recent assessments by industry bodies such as Logistics UK suggest that the shortfall in drivers has started to reduce.

Aviation

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the aviation sector.

Robert Courts: Since the start of the pandemic, we estimate that the air transport sector (airlines, airport and related services) will have benefitted from around £8bn of government support. On 24 January we announced that we will reduce travel restrictions from 11 February, ensuring a more proportionate system in place for passengers. From 4am on 11 February eligible fully vaccinated arrivals will no longer have to undertake a post-arrival Lateral Flow test. Self-isolation and day 8 tests will also be removed for arrivals who are not recognised as fully vaccinated. We are also currently developing a strategic framework for aviation which will set out our ambitions for the sector over the next 10 years. This will be published in due course.

Railway Network

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to restore previously closed rail lines.

Wendy Morton: In January 2020 the Government pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway programme to deliver on our manifesto commitment to start reopening lines and stations to reconnect smaller communities, regenerate local economies and improve access to jobs, homes and education. We reopened the Dartmoor Line in November, the first line to be reinstated under the programme, and are supporting over 45 schemes at different stages of development with funding and advice.

York-Beverley Railway Line

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the potential economic merits of reopening the rail route between York and Hull.

Wendy Morton: In January 2020, the Government pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway programme to deliver on our manifesto commitment to start reopening lines and stations to reconnect smaller communities, regenerate local economies and improve access to jobs, homes and education. The bid for the Beverley to York line to the third round of the Ideas Fund, to improve connectivity and speed of travel between Hull, York and intermediate towns, was successful. Government will be awarding up to £50,000 of funding to the promoters to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case. Officials in the Department for Transport and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities continue to work closely together.

Railways: Fares

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of train fares in (a) the West Midlands and (b) across the UK.

Wendy Morton: Increases to regulated rail fares in England will be capped and tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) figure for July 2021 (3.8 per cent). The Government has deliberately continued to use the July RPI figure as it was lower than subsequent months. In addition, as in 2021, we have temporarily frozen fares for passengers to travel at the lower price for the entirety of January and February 2022, with fares changing on 1 March 2022. The fares rise in the West Midlands will be in line with the national rise. Rail fares outside England are a devolved matter and decisions regarding fares increases are for the devolved administrations. We have recently introduced flexible season rail tickets, in England, which provide better value to most two to three day-a-week commuters than buying daily tickets or traditional seasons. We have also saved a generation of passengers a third off their rail fares, including the 16-17 Saver and 26-30 Railcards and, most recently, the Veterans Railcard. Railcard discounts are available UK wide.

Railway Stations: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published 28 July 2021, what progress his Department has made on conducting a network-wide accessibility audit of station facilities at all 2,565 mainline railway stations in Great Britain to inform future investment decisions.

Wendy Morton: The audits started on site last September and are progressing well. 630 stations have been completed so far and we expect the rest to be complete by early summer next year.

Public Transport: Disability

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support disabled passengers on public transport.

Wendy Morton: The Department is committed to ensuring disabled passengers have the same access to transport as everyone else. We are working to deliver accessibility improvements across all modes of transport, as set out in the 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy, 2021 National Disability Strategy and the 2021 Williams-Shapps Rail Review. Recent initiatives include:Launching the rail Passenger Assist appRevising guidance documents on tactile paving and inclusive mobilityProviding funding for a range of initiatives such as Changing Places Toilets and improving accessibility at lifeline portsPartnering with disability charity Scope to develop a Disabled Passenger Charter for buses, coaches, rail, taxis and private hire vehicles. We also ran the #World of Difference element of the ‘Its Everyone’s Journey’ public awareness campaign to support disabled passengers using public transport, including those with non-visible conditions. We also continue to engage with key stakeholders through the Inclusive Transport Stakeholder Group, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and Disability Ambassadors for Transport.

Crossrail Line

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Crossrail will be operational.

Wendy Morton: Crossrail comes under the remit of the Mayor of London. Transport for London is responsible for delivering the project. Once operational, Crossrail services will be known as the Elizabeth line. In August 2018, Crossrail Ltd announced that the programme could not be delivered on time and that itwould not be in a position to open the central section through London in December 2018 as planned. On August 2020, Crossrail Limited announced that the central section of the Elizabeth line will open in the first half of 2022 with initial services between Abbey Wood and Paddington Elizabeth line stations. Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west and between Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, will be introduced.

Airspace: Finance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department is allocating funding to the aviation industry to develop the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

Robert Courts: The Airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys. Utilising new technology, it will allow the aviation industry to build back better, safely, provide better access for all airspace users and create opportunities to reduce noise and carbon emissions. Funding is being provided on an exceptional basis while the sector recovers from the impact of the pandemic to support our programme to modernise the UK’s airspace. The sponsors of the programme will resume responsibility for funding further stages of the programme as the sector continues its recovery. The funding provided will enable airports to progress with their airspace change proposals to assist in delivering the airspace modernisation programme.

Driving Licences: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on people from Northern Ireland of administrative difficulties caused by driving licenses having one digit less than those in Great Britain.

Trudy Harrison: Driver licensing is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. Northern Ireland driving licence holders can use their licence to drive in Great Britain and do not need to exchange it until it expires.

Roads: Ashfield

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the extent of pothole repairs in Ashfield required to be made by Ashfield District Council.

Trudy Harrison: Nottinghamshire County Council, as local highway authority, is responsible for the maintenance of its local road network, which includes the area covered by Ashfield District Council. Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. Whilst the Government does not intervene in highway maintenance decisions, the settlement announced at Spending Review 2021 represents a funding level consistent with 2021/22: £915 million per year for local highway maintenance, outside London and combined authorities receiving city region settlements (CRSTS), committed for three years.

Roads: Nottinghamshire

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of roads across Nottinghamshire.

Trudy Harrison: As part of the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund project, the A634 in Nottinghamshire was funded in our first round of road safety schemes to the amount of £2,181,000. Work on this road was completed in 2020 in collaboration with Nottinghamshire County Council. The Safer Roads Fund encourages local authorities to adopt a safe system principle, improving roads and creating infrastructure for active travel. Responsibility, however, of the local road network, including safety, remains the role of Nottinghamshire County Council. They are best suited to understand the safety of roads across their area and to implement appropriate interventions.

Bus Services: Nottinghamshire

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made subsequent to the National Bus Strategy to deliver new services across Nottinghamshire.

Trudy Harrison: The National Bus Strategy and subsequent guidance set out clear expectations on what Bus Service Improvement Plans should include. I can confirm that Nottinghamshire’s BSIP has been received by the Department. At the Budget we announced £1.2 billion of new dedicated funding for bus transformation deals, as part of over £3 billion of bus investment across this Parliament. We will announce details of how that funding will be allocated in due course.

Electric Vehicles: Greater London

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the (a) £2.5 billion total funding and (b) additional £620 million for electric vehicle charging his Department plans to allocate to London; and what that funding allocated to London is planned to be used for.

Trudy Harrison: Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles to support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this Government to both electric vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5 billion. To date, grant funding for both electric vehicles and their supporting charging infrastructure has been demand led so there is no specific amount of funding for either that has been allocated to London. We encourage all Local Authorities, electric vehicle drivers and workplaces in London to apply for grant funding through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint, Electric Vehicle Homecharge and Workplace Charging Schemes to assist with the cost of buying and installing electric vehicle chargepoints on residential streets, at drivers’ homes and at workplaces. We are considering the design of new schemes to ensure good provision across the country. Our forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will set out how the Government will intervene to address the gaps between the current market status and our vision, and how we will monitor progress going forward to 2030.

Department for Transport: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Stephenson: The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.

Shipping: Working Hours

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the World Maritime University’s EVREST report on the regulation of seafarers’ hours of rest and work, published in 2020, what steps the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is taking in response to the recommendations in that report.

Robert Courts: The United Kingdom supported the World Maritime University’s EVREST report at its presentation at the Special Tripartite Committee of the International Labour Organization in April 2021. The report is due to be considered by the International Maritime Organization Maritime Safety Committee in April 2022, and the UK has co-sponsored the World Maritime University’s paper proposing work in response to their report. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and their social partners agreed to wait for the outcome of this meeting before discussing further. The MCA takes seafarer fatigue seriously and will continue to enforce the current rules, work at an international level to improve the international standards in this area, and work with social partners to improve understanding of fatigue.

Motorways

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many miles of All Lane Running motorways are in operation.

Trudy Harrison: In 2020, there were 168.1 miles of All Lane Running motorway in England. This is the latest validated information available[1]. [1] Source: National Highways scheme information and DfT road length statistics.

Exports: Dover Port

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of current waiting times of hauliers with goods to export to enter the Port of Dover.

Trudy Harrison: The Department does not hold data on the average time spent by hauliers waiting in traffic to board a ferry at Dover. The Port of Dover operates a ‘turn up and go service’ meaning HGVs will be placed on to the first available ferry when they arrive at the Port. There may be an occasion when hauliers have to wait and this may be due to peak periods of traffic at the Port. The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) is responsible for traffic management in Kent.

National Highways: Regional Planning and Development

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role the Highways Agency has in supporting the Levelling Up agenda.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Highways Agency is taking to ensure the safety of people on Britain's roads.

Trudy Harrison: The Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England is owned and managed by National Highways. The funding provided through the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) enables National Highways to maintain and operate a safe SRN across the country that underpins the economy and directly and indirectly benefits its users and local communities. Individual schemes have the potential to support levelling up across England, as does the deployment of National Highways designated funds programme. The designated funds programme includes the Users and Communities Fund, which works to better integrate the SRN with the major road network and roads managed by local authorities. We also work to integrate with other transport modes, aiming to improve everyone’s journey, regardless of how they are travelling. Safety is National Highways’ top priority as highway authority on the SRN and it addresses safety issues through public information campaigns and infrastructure solutions where necessary.

Railways: Fares

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the potential increase in revenue from passengers in respect of the forthcoming increase in rail fares of 3.8 per cent.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department carried out yield management analysis prior to taking the decision to increase rail fares this year by 3.8 per cent.

Wendy Morton: The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effect of changes to fares on rail demand and revenues. No analysis has been made on the yield management of the maximum cap set for regulated fares increases for March 2022. While fares changes affect total industry revenue there are also a number of other impacts that affect it. This includes, most notably at the moment, the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel and train operators have the capacity to price many fares more flexibly to maximise commercial revenues.

Dover Port: Large Goods Vehicles

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time spent waiting in traffic was for a haulier waiting to board a ferry at Dover in each during (a) November 2021, (b) December 2021 and (c) January 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time spent waiting in traffic was for a haulier waiting to board a ferry at Dover in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: The Department does not hold data on the average time spent by hauliers waiting in traffic to board a ferry at Dover. The Port of Dover operates a ‘turn up and go service’ meaning HGVs will be placed on to the first available ferry when they arrive at the Port. There may be an occasion when hauliers have to wait which may be due to peak periods of traffic at the Port. The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) is responsible for traffic management in Kent.

Railways: Tickets

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy that the commission rates of Great British Railways align with other sellers of rail tickets.

Wendy Morton: With the support of the Secretary of State, the Rail Delivery Group is currently conducting a Retail Review of the rail retailing landscape which encompasses cost of sales, commission rates, and notice periods of changes. Any future decisions on these areas will be informed by the findings of that review when it concludes.

Motorways: Yorkshire and the Humber

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the need for extensive pothole repairs across the motorway network in Yorkshire.

Trudy Harrison: National Highways’ inspectors carry out daily safety patrols on the motorways in Yorkshire and weekly safety inspections on other stretches of the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Where safety critical defects, including potholes, are identified, they are made safe within 24 hours. Permanent repairs are carried out according to the severity of the defect, often within 28 days. National Highways will continue to review the condition of our motorways in Yorkshire, along with other routes on the SRN, to ensure that future improvement works are prioritised according to need.

Local Transport Plans: Carbon Emissions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the sustainable transport toolkit for local authorities will include guidance on how emerging local plans should take the Government's Transport Decarbonisation agenda and Local Transport Plan requirements into account.

Trudy Harrison: The Local Authority decarbonisation toolkit will provide guidance and information to support local areas in planning and delivering policy measures to reduce carbon emissions from transport. The guidance is aligned with and will deliver the commitments set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The plan also committed us to drive forward decarbonisation and transport improvements at a local level by making quantifiable carbon reductions a fundamental part of local transport planning and funding. New guidance on developing Local Transport Plans is currently being developed and is expected to be published later this year. The guidance will set out the key requirements for quantifiable carbon reductions and wider alignment with spatial planning.

Electric Vehicles

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising energy prices on the cost of charging an electric vehicle.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on mitigating the effect of rising energy prices on drivers of electric vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: I have various and ongoing discussions about the Government’s policy for supporting the transition to electric and zero emission driving with my Ministerial colleagues. The Government will continue to work with the energy sector to identify options to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on consumers, including in respect of the transition to electric vehicles. The Government is considering what reforms are needed to retail market regulation to support progress to net zero through the 2020s. In considering these reforms, we will take account of the lessons of the current market.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to manufacturers of electric vehicle chargers to meet the recent change in regulations that requires all new home chargers to be smart.

Trudy Harrison: In 2021, Government passed regulations to mandate that private chargepoints sold in Great Britain must be smart and meet minimum device standards. The new regulations will drive the uptake of smart charging, to enable the transition to electric vehicles whilst minimising cost to consumers. The majority of these new requirements apply from 30 June 2022. Government officials worked closely with the charge point industry to develop the regulations, and we are continuing this engagement in collaboration with the enforcement body to address any concerns or queries manufacturers may have. We will also shortly publish a guidance document for the regulations, to assist charge point sellers, including manufacturers, in complying with these new obligations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Nuclear Power: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support companies to facilitate the creation of new civil nuclear power in Scotland.

Greg Hands: The Government’s goal is to have a domestic nuclear market that maximises commercial opportunities in all parts of the UK including Scotland. The Government is committed to ensuring that all of the UK supply chain has the opportunity to compete for high-value contracts, that new nuclear developers share supply chain information with industry early, and to creating the right environment for UK companies to prepare to bid for these opportunities including Scotland. Companies from across the UK have an integral role to play in the creation of new nuclear power and the Government is focussed on supporting them to do so. Scotland has an excellent civil nuclear tradition, and the Government wants to see that continue.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support is available for private renters whose home is in energy efficiency Band F or G, and has an exemption from Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, to reduce their energy bills.

Greg Hands: Support is available to upgrade homes where tenants in the private rented sector are on a low income. Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) private renters in F and G homes, in receipt of certain benefits, are eligible for solid wall insulation and renewable heating measures, as these measures are expected to exceed landlords cost caps to improve the energy efficiency of their property. Under the Local Authority Delivery scheme and the Home Upgrade Grant, privately rented EPC F and G rated properties with a MEES regulations exemption, can receive funding provided tenants meet the low income eligibility criteria. Landlords must contribute one third of the total cost of the energy efficiency and low carbon upgrades. Financial support with energy bills is also available to eligible households through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment.

Wind Power: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding the Government (a) has provided and (b) is planning to allocate to offshore wind projects in Scotland.

Greg Hands: The UK is a world leader in the deployment of offshore wind and development in Scottish waters, as supported through the Contracts for Difference Scheme and the Renewables Obligation Certificate. The Crown Estate Scotland’s recently announced “ScotWind” seabed leasing round, which released almost 25GW of additional capacity in Scottish waters, including 15GW of floating offshore wind. This places Scotland in a good position to continue benefitting from the growth of offshore wind into the 2030s and beyond. To continue to capitalise on this booming sector, the Government is investing up to £160 million for new large-scale floating offshore wind ports and factories. This funding, boosted by private sector investment, will develop industrial capacity capable of mass-producing floating offshore wind turbines and installing them out at sea, creating thousands of new jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands. This investment also presents huge opportunities for Scotland’s coastal communities as well as communities up and down the UK, and will build on Scotland's lead as a technology hub for offshore wind.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support is available to private landlords whose property is energy efficiency Band F or G, and has an exemption from Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, to reduce their property’s carbon emissions.

Greg Hands: If a privately rented EPC F/G property has an exemption from MEES then it could be eligible for Sustainable Warmth funding (as the landlord has met the regulations by applying successfully as an exemption). The householder must be on a low income and funding depends on geographical location. Southampton City Council has been successful in securing LAD3 funding under the Sustainable Warmth competition. For low-income tenants in on-gas grid properties, the landlord must contribute at least one third of the total cost of upgrading the property within the relevant cost caps. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, expected to launch in April this year, will provide grants to property owners, including private landlords, for the installation of low carbon heating technologies such as heat pumps. [The property must have a valid EPC which does not have outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation.]

Housing Improvement: Energy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that lower income households are financially supported in the (a) purchase and (b) installation of green home upgrades.

Greg Hands: In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government set out comprehensive measures to retrofit the nation’s buildings. More than £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings has been announced, bringing the total commitment in this Parliament to £6.6billion.

Energy: Prices

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of lifting the energy price cap on households in Birmingham.

Greg Hands: The Energy Price Cap continues to protect households, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy. We have been clear that the Price Cap will remain in place. The setting of the level of the Energy Price Cap is a matter for Ofgem.

Natural Gas: Prices

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative estimate he has made of industrial gas prices in the (a) UK and (b) US.

Greg Hands: Gas prices have risen across the globe as a result of a number of international factors in supply and demand, with many markets across Europe and Asia experiencing highs. These have been caused by a number of factors, industries rapidly rebounding demand, as economies exit COVID-19 lockdowns, liquified natural gas demand in Asia, and supply outages over the summer.

Firewood

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 43 of his Department's Statistical Release of 29 July 2021 entitled Digest of UK Energy Statistics Annual data for UK, 2020, for what reason domestic wood consumption was revised down from 2,241 kilotonnes to 733 kilotonnes in the 2018 reference year.

Greg Hands: Domestic wood consumption was revised in July 2021 to incorporate the results of research undertaken by The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Nuclear Reactors: Thorium

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has commissioned any research on thorium molten salt reactors.

Greg Hands: Thorium fuel research is undertaken via UKRI grants to UK Universities for academic research and via the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). BEIS and its partner organisations continue to maintain a watching brief on the state of development and market demand for thorium-based nuclear fuels. BEIS officials also remain in contact with a number of organisations that support thorium use or are undertaking research into its applications.

Carbon Emissions: Taxation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason he has not abated the carbon price in response to changes in the level of carbon price.

Greg Hands: Following the triggering of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme’s Cost Containment Mechanism, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority (made up of the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive) considered the factors that may have affected allowance prices, and agreed that not intervening in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme was the right course of action in both December and January. The Authority issued a statement after both decisions, with its reasons, on gov.uk.

Heating: Housing

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of electricity demand from domestic heating in 2030 compared to 2022.

Greg Hands: BEIS regularly publishes projections of energy demand and emissions, including projections of electricity demand in the residential sector. The most recent update (Net Zero Strategy baseline: partial interim update December 2021) was published on 7th December 2021. In this update, electricity demand in the domestic sector in 2030 is projected to be 116 TWh (terawatt-hours), compared to 101 TWh in 2022. Projections for the component of this demand that is due to domestic heating are not available. These projections only consider policies which have been classified as implemented, adopted, planned, or expired as of August 2019, as specified by international reporting guidelines. These figures are based on central estimates of economic growth and fossil fuel prices and have been extracted from BEIS Energy and Emissions Projections: Net Zero Strategy baseline (partial interim update December 2021) Annex F: Final energy demand.  For additional detail on the recent update to energy demand and emissions projections, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-and-emissions-projections-net-zero-strategy-baseline-partial-interim-update-december-2021

Electricity Generation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what increase in UK electricity generating capacity is planned by 2030 excluding wind and solar power energy.

Greg Hands: Our latest published Energy and Emissions Projections show 31 gigawatts (GW) of new non-renewable capacity are projected to be built between 2022 and 2030. Non-renewable capacity includes nuclear, fossil fuel, interconnector and storage capacity and excludes bioenergy, hydro, wind and solar. The government are not targeting a specific capacity mix but will ensure a market framework to bring forward the necessary capacity whilst promoting effective competition to deliver an affordable, secure, and reliable system consistent with our decarbonisation objectives.

Transport: Electricity

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of demand for electricity from the UK transport sector in 2030 compared to 2022.

Greg Hands: The figures below show the Department’s latest published projections of electricity consumption in the transport sector for the years 2022 and 2030 in thousands of tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). 20222030Transport (ktoe)Electricity5641,614

Drax Power Station: Carbon Emissions

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of carbon dioxide that (a) was captured by the Drax power station’s bioenergy with carbon capture and storage programme in last 12 months and (b) would have been captured by the trees used as wood pellets in the event that they had not been cut down.

Greg Hands: The government does not hold this information

Drax Power Station: Carbon Emissions

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average gross stack emissions of CO2 per MWh for power generated by Drax is when fuelled by (a) coal and (b) wood.

Greg Hands: The Government does not hold this information.

Energy: Prices

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of number of families at risk of entering fuel poverty as a result of the decision to raise the price cap; and what steps his Department is taking to support those families once the cap has been lifted.

Greg Hands: The energy price cap from 1 April 2022 will be announced by Ofgem in February. The Government continues to offer support for energy efficiency measures, which contribute to reducing energy bills and tackling fuel poverty in the long term. This includes schemes available to support low income households in improving the energy efficiency of their homes, including the Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation. Financial support with energy bills is also available to eligible households through the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment.

Tidal Power

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's tidal power strategy is to complement the UK's energy mix; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The Government announced in November 2021 that the fourth Contracts for Difference allocation round will feature a £20million annual ringfenced budget for tidal stream energy. This builds on a long and continuing history of government support for the tidal power sector, and opens up possibilities for Britain’s marine energy sector to play a key role in strengthening energy security and reducing the country’s dependency on fossil fuels.

Iron and Steel: Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of steel consumed in the UK is imported.

Lee Rowley: According to the latest world steel association data, in 2020 the UK consumed 9.0Mt of steel of which 5.0Mt (55%) was imported. In 2019 the UK consumed 10.2Mt of steel and imported 7.3Mt (72%).

Petrochemicals: Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of petrochemicals consumed in the UK are imported.

Lee Rowley: Consumption of imported petrochemicals cannot be estimated due to the lack of official data on imports, re-exports and consumption of these products.

Wind Power: Celtic Sea

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to ScotWind's announcement on the outcome of its application process for leasing on January 2022, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient supply chain development around the Celtic Sea to ensure that the potential benefits of floating offshore wind are distributed across the whole UK.

Greg Hands: The Celtic Sea will play a vital role in the UK’s Green Industrial revolution, creating new industries and thousands of high-skilled jobs. Floating offshore wind will be a vital component of the UK’s energy mix as the UK moves towards net zero. The Government has committed to delivering at least 1GW of floating capacity by 2030 as a stepping-stone to larger scale deployment through the 2030s. In the draft budget notice for the fourth Contracts for Difference round, the Government announced ringfenced support for floating offshore wind.The Celtic Sea is an area of significant potential for floating offshore wind. In addition to the test and demonstration floating projects already in early development, the Crown Estate has commenced work on a floating wind leasing round in the Celtic Sea which could bring forward up to 4GW of new projects. Government has set aside up to £160 million to support new floating wind ports and infrastructure; projects servicing the Celtic Sea will be eligible to access this support.

Energy: Meters

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of personnel supporting (a) heritage and (b) smart meters in the local area networks in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland; and what level of obligation do utility companies have to fulfil heritage and smart metering to customers.

Greg Hands: Smart meters are replacing traditional gas and electricity meters as part of a national infrastructure upgrade that will make our energy system more efficient and flexible, helping to deliver net zero emissions by 2050. As such, smart meters are becoming the default meter offer in Great Britain. The Government has introduced a new four-year Targets Framework, which commenced on 1 January 2022, with individual annual smart meter installation requirements for energy suppliers to further drive rollout momentum. Energy suppliers are responsible for the provision of metering to their customers, including ensuring that overall installer capacity is in place to meet their targets and customer demand across Great Britain.

Wind Power: Finance

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the amount to be raised from the 2018 Contracts for Difference auctions when those wind farms come on stream; and in the context of the wholesale price being higher than the strike price, what estimate his Department has made of the potential amount of repayment to Government revenues.

Greg Hands: The Low Carbon Contracts Company publishes regularly updated short-term forecasts of aggregate Contracts for Difference payments under a range of different scenarios to reflect uncertainty. The Office for Budget Responsibility also publishes a longer-term forecasts of aggregate Contracts for Difference costs including Contracts for Difference payments.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much and what proportion of the funds the Exchequer has paid out to lenders because of defaults in the bounce back loan scheme is a result of fraud.

Paul Scully: As of the end of December 2021, the British Business Bank, on behalf of government, has settled claims by lenders under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme of £70m. Of this, £13m or 19% were flagged by lenders as suspected fraud.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to to extend eligibility for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant to (a) gyms, (b) yoga studies and (c) other sports businesses.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to provide additional financial support for yoga studios.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant Guidance for Local Authorities, published on 21 January 2022, for what reason his Department excluded gyms and sports businesses from the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Government's decision to exclude gyms and sports businesses from the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant on the viability of (a) yoga studios and (b) gyms.

Paul Scully: The Government has delivered to Local Authorities over £700 million for grants to support businesses most impacted by Omicron, part of a £1 billion wider support package announced by the Chancellor on 21 December. The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant supports businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed rate-paying premises, in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors. For the purposes of this scheme, the definition of a leisure business excludes gyms and sports businesses where physical exercise or training is conducted on an individual basis or group basis. The funding supports sectors where social mixing is a primary motivation for consumers.   Alongside the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant, more than £100 million worth of Additional Restrictions Grant discretionary funding has also been made available to Local Authorities in England to support other businesses severely impacted by Omicron. Gyms, yoga studios and other sports businesses may be eligible for this scheme. Local Authorities have discretion to allocate this funding to businesses most in need.The Guidance for both OHLG and ARG schemes can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-restrictions-support-grants-lrsg-and-additional-restrictions-grant-arg-guidance-for-local-authorities On top of wider economic support, the Government announced a £100 million support fund for Local Authority leisure centres to ensure these important facilities remain available once public health restrictions are lifted. Sport England has provided £270 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds. This includes £8,991,129 on multisport projects which included yoga, and of which £108,573 was specifically to fund yoga.

INTERREG programme

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether continued membership of Interreg programmes will be possible for UK-based organisations following the UK's departure from the EU.

Paul Scully: Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement January 2020 it was agreed that the UK would remain in European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) programmes in the Multiannual Funding Framework (MFF) 2014-2020. This includes Interreg programmes also known as European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes. Spending on these programmes will continue until December 2023 and after this they will be closed. The UK will not be participating in ESIF programmes in the next MFF 2021-2027, including ETC programmes, except for the Peace Plus programme in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has policy responsibility for Peace Plus.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the value of fraudulent loans made through the bounce back loans scheme.

Paul Scully: The latest estimates for fraudulent losses in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme can be found in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme: Fraud

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the value of fraudulent loans made through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme.

Paul Scully: The latest estimates for losses in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme can be found in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) value and (b) proportion of loans made through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme which will not be repaid.

Paul Scully: The most recent estimates for losses in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme can be found in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his estimate is of the (a) value and (b) proportion of loans made through the bounce back loan scheme which will not be repaid.

Paul Scully: The latest estimates for losses in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme can be found in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021.

Small Businesses

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on spending patterns on local high streets; and what assessment he has made of any potential effect that has had on (a) SMEs and (b) micro businesses.

Paul Scully: No such assessments have been made on spending patterns on local high streets.

Gratuities

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy what the timeline is for the implementation of the reforms to tipping practices announced in September 2021.

Paul Scully: Tips earned by workers should go to the workers they were intended for. We will bring forward legislation requiring employers to pass all tips to workers as soon as parliamentary time allows. This legislation will require employers to pass on all tips, gratuities, and service charges to workers without any deductions. Employers will be required to distribute tips in a fair and transparent manner, where employers have control or significant influence over tip distribution. We will introduce a new right for workers to make a request for information relating to an employer’s tipping record, to enable them to bring forward a credible claim to an employment tribunal. We expect new rules to commence no earlier than one year after legislation has passed, giving employers sufficient lead-in time to adjust their business practices.

Working Hours

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to make changes to the Working Time Regulations.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to building a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business. All policies – including retained EU law - are kept under review to ensure that they meet our objectives but the government has no intention of reducing workers’ rights.

Unfair Dismissal

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to reduce the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal.

Paul Scully: The qualifying periods are intended to strike the right balance between ensuring fairness for employees and providing flexibility to employers. It is important to note that no qualifying period applies if a dismissal is for certain specified reasons which are particularly serious, or because employees have claimed another statutory employment right, for example the right not to be unlawfully discriminated against or to request flexible working. We believe this provides the right balance for employers and employees.

Minimum Wage: Government Departments

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2022 to Question 96929 on Minimum Wage: Government Departments, how many of the employers named have a contract with a Government Department.

Paul Scully: The purpose of the Naming Scheme is to increase awareness of the rules, and to act as a deterrent to the minority of employers who may be tempted to underpay their workers. It is for that reason that publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules remains an important part of our enforcement and compliance toolkit. To date we have named over 2,500 employers and across the entirety of the Naming Scheme, covering £20 million in arrears and over £24 million in penalties.BEIS does not hold information about the number of named employers who have a contract with a Government Department. However, government contracts over £10,000 are listed on Contracts Finder: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. BEIS only names employers once Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has concluded its investigations. For the employers named on 9 December 2021, HMRC’s investigations had concluded between 2014 and 2019.

Carbon Dioxide: Shortages

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to tackle C02 shortages resulting from gas supply issues and its effects on the availability of meat and frozen products.

Lee Rowley: We are monitoring the situation and are not aware of any material supply issues with CO2 for the meat and frozen food industries at the current time.

Cost of Living: Blackburn

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of rising fuel prices on household finances in Blackburn constituency.

Greg Hands: The Government is conscious of the impact of fuel prices on household finances across the country. That is why we have kept fuel duty frozen. This is the twelfth consecutive freeze, saving the average UK car driver a cumulative £1,900, compared to the plans set out by the previous government in 2010.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Conor Burns: The Northern Ireland Office has not undertaken any post legislative reviews on primary and secondary legislation within the last ten years. This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade.

Northern Ireland Government

Simon Hoare: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2021 to Question 87781 on Northern Ireland Government, how much of the more than £700 million released so far has been allocated to each programme under the New Decade, New Approach agreement.

Conor Burns: As the Hon Gentleman has highlighted, by the end of this financial year the Government will have released £710 million from the New Decade, New Approach financial package. This is composed of £200 million to resolve the nurses’ pay dispute, £50 million to support ultra-low emission transport, £93 million for the transformation of public services, over £7 million for the Northern Ireland Medical School, £10 million to address “Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances”, and £350 million to put the Executive’s finances on a sustainable footing.

Department of Health and Social Care

Neuromuscular Disorders: Mental Health Services

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of psychological support for people living with MS and other neurological conditions.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS and Social Services: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his latest estimate is of the number of people in the (a) NHS and (b) social care sector who risk being dismissed as a result of being unvaccinated against covid-19.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Care Workers: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of social care staff who are unvaccinated against covid-19.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Multiple Sclerosis: Drugs

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to new medicines among people living with progressive forms of MS.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance has been issued to clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable people who may be required to attend a mandatory face to face appointment with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Maggie Throup: People previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to follow general guidance, while considering additional precautions to reduce their risk of infection. Updated public health advice was issued on 24 December 2021 for those previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19We have also issued guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19, which is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-riskWe will continue to keep this guidance under review.

Alcoholic Drinks: Children and Young People

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines on consumption of alcohol by children and young people.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Coronavirus

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to monitor the impact of the removal of the fallow time between dental patients and covid-19 infections.

Maria Caulfield: Fallow time has not been removed from national guidance. It continues to be recommended when treating dental patients with symptoms of respiratory infection, or suspected or confirmed respiratory infection, who have undergone an aerosol generating procedure.

Health: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish a fully costed public health strategy.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has announced specific investment in improving public health over the Spending Review period. This includes protecting the Public Health Grant for local authorities in real terms, with £300 million to tackle obesity and £170 million to improve the Start4Life offer available to families, including breastfeeding advice and parent-infant mental health support. We are also providing an additional £560 million to support improvements in the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment services. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities aims to address the top preventable risk factors for poor health, improving the public’s health and narrowing health inequalities. We will confirm further details for our plans in due course.

Genetics: Screening

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) technology capability and (b) workforce expertise in each of the genomic laboratory hubs; and if he will publish that assessment.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not currently available. However, data is being collated across the National Health Service Genomic Laboratory Hubs to assess the capability and expertise of the workforce. We do not have a confirmed completion date for the data collection at this stage.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders in response to the findings by the UKHSA that Meningitis B cases have increased higher than the level prior to the outbreak of covid-19; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of centralising vaccine data and the recording of information on offering vaccinations to those who are unvaccinated.

Maria Caulfield: The Department, the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England and NHS Improvement are jointly monitoring the MenB vaccination programme and we continue to engage with stakeholders on rising case numbers of meningitis B. We are considering how lessons from the COVID-19 vaccination programme can be applied to the wider immunisation programme.

General Practitioners: Internet

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on GP surgery websites.

Maria Caulfield: We do not hold information on general practitioner (GP) surgery websites. However, NHS England and NHSX have made guidance available to GP practices on website design. Some commissioners have also provided to support to practices to standardise and upgrade websites.

Perinatal Mortality: Asians

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities on the higher number of perinatal deaths among the Asian and Asian British community in the UK.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities have had discussions on considering the evidence for the higher number of perinatal deaths in the Asian and Asian British community.

Dental Services: Disease Control

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what risk assessment he has carried out on impacts of changes to Government guidance for infection control in dental surgeries.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The guidance states that dental settings should undertake risk assessments in relation to infection control. Based on this assessment, dental settings should implement effective controls to reduce the spread of respiratory pathogens. The national infection prevention and control respiratory guidance for health and care settings is regularly updated to reflect the current evidence base. The latest version of ‘COVID-19: infection prevention and control dental appendix’ was published in November 2021.

General Practitioners: Telemedicine

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential risk posed by a reliance on internet connectivity in order for people to attend virtual GP appointments.

Maria Caulfield: We have not made a specific assessment. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance states that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing general practice. All practice receptions should be open to patients, ensuring that those who do not have easy access to phones and other devices which require internet connections are not disadvantaged in their ability to access care.NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for patients, staff and the wider health and care system on the use of digital tools in general practice to inform its long-term strategy.

PPE Medpro: Contracts

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial checks his Department made on PPE Medpro Ltd (a) following its referral to the high priority lane and (b) prior to the award of any contract; and what interests were declared by any party in relation to that company.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 80941, on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, whether Baroness Mone declared any connection to Medpro PPE in her communications with the Minister on 7 and 8 May 2020.

Edward Argar: Due diligence was carried out for all contracts. All offers received a rigorous financial and technical assessment, led by Departmental officials and other Government departments. The Department researched and reported on financial details of companies and background details of company directors and produced reports rating suppliers as red, amber or green.Departmental records reflect that a link between Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro was clear prior to contracts being awarded.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken since 17 November 2021 to locate minutes of the ministerial meeting of 9 April 2020 between Lord Bethell, Randox and the former Rt hon. Member for North Shropshire.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contributions of the Minister for Care and Mental Health of 17 November 2021, Official Report, Column 595, whether his Department has located minutes of the ministerial meeting of 9 April 2020 between Lord Bethell, Randox and the former Rt hon. Member for North Shropshire.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 81967, on Randox Laboratories, tabled by the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on 25 November 2021.

Edward Argar: The Department has previously released the minutes of the meeting of 9 April 2020. A redacted copy of the minutes is attached.Attachment  (pdf, 115.2KB)

Department of Health and Social Care: Sigma Pharmaceuticals

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, the hon. Member for Winchester, and Sigma on 10 February 2021; who attended the meeting on behalf of (a) Sigma and (b) his Department; and in what capacity the hon. Member for Winchester was attending.

Edward Argar: The former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for COVID Vaccine Deployment (the Rt Hon. Nadhim Zahawi MP) gave an address on 10 February 2021 for community pharmacists as part of the ‘Taking Pharmacy Forward’ live webinar. The event was hosted by Bharat Shah of Sigma Pharmaceuticals.The hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine MP) facilitated the webinar which was also attended by Simon Dukes, Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. The Department does not hold a record of the names of all attendees from the Department or Sigma, nor a minute of the webinar.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 97125 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, how much of the total cost for items of personal protective equipment that were not fit for use was paid to companies which secured contracts via the high priority lane.

Edward Argar: The technical assurance process for personal protective equipment (PPE) is ongoing. The quantity of PPE items currently deemed not fit for use has been reduced to 984 million items, with a corresponding purchase price of £326 million. Of this, £61 million was paid to suppliers that were processed through the High Priority Lane. The Department continues to work through resolution processes with companies that provided PPE which is not fit for use, including those processed through the High Priority Lane.

Asylum: Mental Health Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of asylum applicants seek treatment for mental health whilst waiting for their applications to be processed.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not available, as data collected on people accessing National Health Service mental health services does not record their asylum status.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle waiting times for heart scans.

Edward Argar: We have announced an additional £5.9 billion to support elective recovery, diagnostics and technology over the next three years. This includes £2.3 billion to increase diagnostic activity and launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25. This will address backlogs of patients waiting for clinical tests, such as echocardiograms, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasounds and computerised tomography scans.  By March 2022, 44 centres will be fully operational and deliver one million scans and tests, including for patients awaiting heart scans.We have also made £2 billion available through the Elective Recovery Fund to recover elective services and reduce waiting times. In addition, we have committed £8 billion from 2022 to 2025 to reduce waiting lists and transform elective services.

Coronavirus: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the availability of covid-19 vaccines in Solihull.

Maggie Throup: As of 27 January 2022, there are 32 walk-in sites across Solihull and Birmingham. In Solihull, two vaccination centres are available without the need to book an appointment, as well as regular dedicated sessions for 12 to 15 year olds. Local vaccination services, community pharmacies and Primary Care Network led sites are operational in the Solihull area.As of 27 January 2022, over 84% of the population aged 12 years old and over in Solihull had received their first dose, 79% aged over 12 had received their second dose and over 69% of those aged 18 years old and over had received either their third primary or booster dose.

Tobacco

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Committee on Toxicity has been able to obtain independent confirmation of manufacturers' findings in regards to heat-not-burn products.

Maggie Throup: The Committees on Toxicity, Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity’s statement on heat-not-burn tobacco products in 2017 was based on data provided by the manufacturers as well as the available independent data on these products. As this is not standard practice, the Department has not obtained independent confirmation of the data assessed by the Committee on Toxicity.

Coronavirus: Screening

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which businesses have been (a) accredited to supply lateral flow tests to the NHS and (b) accredited to supply those tests for use in the UK.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not accredit businesses to supply lateral flow tests. The UK Health Security Agency evaluates lateral flow tests. Only lateral flow tests that pass evaluation are supplied to the National Health Service and are available to be sold in the United Kingdom.

Coronavirus: Screening

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the supply of covid-19 lateral flow tests is not disrupted for healthcare workers, school teachers and pupils and other key recipients.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency has increased both the supply of tests and distribution capability. We have delivered approximately seven million tests a day through GOV.UK and 90 million tests a week in the United Kingdom through all delivery channels, including to educational settings.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of covid-19 lateral flow testing kits; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are sufficient covid-19 tests available to meet increased demand in the Weaver Vale constituency.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency has increased both the supply of tests and distribution capability. We have delivered seven million tests a day through GOV.UK and 90 million tests a week in the United Kingdom through all delivery channels.

Dentistry: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) dentists, (b) dental nurses, (c) dental hygienists and (d) other dental staff who are unvaccinated against covid-19.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 January 2022 to Question 100611.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure the HIV prevention drug PrEP is made available in settings other than sexual health services.

Maria Caulfield: ‘Towards Zero: the HIV Action Plan for England - 2022 to 2025’ published in December 2021 commits to develop a bespoke plan to drive innovation in pre-exposure prophylaxis delivery to improve access for key groups, including provision in settings other than sexual health services.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish data on the uptake of the HIV prevention drug PrEP; and whether that data will be broken down by (a) key population groups at risk of HIV and (b) region.

Maria Caulfield: The deployment of routine pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) began in England in autumn 2020. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is analysing data on the uptake of PrEP among different population groups in various geographical regions. The GUMCAD STI Surveillance System collects data on PrEP eligibility, offer and use and the number of tablets prescribed. Data on PrEP need and use will be published in routine sexually transmitted infections and HIV surveillance data. A phased approach to publication will take place starting later this year after a full year of data for 2021 has been reported to the UKHSA. Where possible and depending on the intended publication, the indicators will be presented by key population group and geographical region.

Miscarriage

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing the registration of a miscarriage or still birth under 24 weeks gestation.

Maria Caulfield: In February 2018, we announced a pregnancy loss review to consider questions on registering/certifying pregnancy loss that occurs before 24 weeks gestation and the quality of National Health Service care for women experiencing such losses. The review engaged with a range of stakeholders, including baby loss charities, parents with lived experience of pregnancy loss, registrars and clinicians. While work on the review was paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, drafting of the report has now resumed and we aim to publish its findings in due course.

Health Services: Waiting Lists

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the detailed budget plans for reducing NHS waiting lists in England.

Edward Argar: The NHS 2022/23 Operational Planning Guidance confirms £2.3 billion has been allocated to support the recovery of elective services. This is in addition to £1.5 billion over three years via core budgets to support new surgical hubs, increased bed capacity and equipment. National Health Service systems are currently developing individual plans for elective services in 2022/23.

Dental Services: Midlands

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that a relevant proportion of the £8,904,000 allocated to the Midlands to support dentistry will be allocated to the (a) East Midlands, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Bosworth constituency.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England is working with regional teams to commission additional activity from providers with capacity and ability to deliver dental services in the Midlands.

Haemochromatosis: Diagnosis

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis of genetic haemochromatosis.

Maria Caulfield: Genetic testing for haemochromatosis is available through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service for patients in England who show unexplained iron overload suggestive of hereditary haemochromatosis. This testing is outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory and is delivered via the national genomic testing network of NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs.The UK Rare Diseases Framework outlines four priorities to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as some forms of genetic haemochromatosis. Further details regarding plans to improve diagnosis of rare diseases will be provided in action plans, which will be published by each of the four United Kingdom nations within two years of publication of the Framework. England’s action plan will be published in February 2022.

Donors: Ethnic Groups

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS Blood and Transplant to encourage greater donations of blood, plasma, and bone marrow amongst ethnic minority communities.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS Blood and Transplant have regular discussions on communication plans to promote donation in England, including those directed at ethnic minority communities. This includes a range of media, marketing activity, donor and patient case studies, partnerships and engagement with faith organisations.NHS Blood and Transplant’s Community Investment Scheme invested £400,000 in 2020/21 to support 35 grassroot, community and faith-based organisations to raise awareness of organ, blood and stem cell donation. Since September 2021, the science relating to blood, organ and stem cell donation forms part of the secondary school curriculum in England, aimed at promoting awareness in young people.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility requirements of the Government’s human papillomavirus vaccination programme to include more adults in the 35-45 age bracket.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it emerges.In 2018, a human papillomavirus (HPV) programme targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) aged up to 45 years old who attend sexual health clinics was introduced, after a recommendation from the JCVI as they are a high-risk group for HPV exposure and some related cancers. Clinicians can offer the HPV vaccine to individuals in this age group who have a similar risk profile to the eligible MSM population.

Eyesight

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will launch a public awareness campaign around the importance of eye health.

Maria Caulfield: We have no current plans to do so. Advice provided on NHS.UK sets out the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests. The Department also regularly uses the National Eye Health Week as a means of promoting the importance of NHS sight tests.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the viability of yearly women’s health check-ups to help prevent the late diagnosis of gynaecological cancers.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of late diagnoses of gynaecological cancers.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the ambition that 75% of people with cancer will be diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by 2028. On 14 February 2022, the Department will launch the ‘Help us help you’ cervical screening campaign to raise awareness of the risks of cervical cancer and highlight the preventative benefits of screening. The campaign will also remind people to book an appointment with their general practitioner practice or local sexual health clinic if they missed their last screening.A best practice timed pathway for gynaecological cancers is scheduled for publication shortly. This will support shortened diagnosis pathways, reduce variation, improve patient experience of care and meet the faster diagnosis standard.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the meningitis-B vaccine uptake amongst the student population.

Maria Caulfield: As Meningococcal B disease is rare after the first five years of life, students are not routinely offered this vaccination. Protection against other strains which cause meningitis and septicaemia is provided through the national Men-ACWY programme delivered at ages 13 to 15 years old or in catch-up programmes at ages 19 to 25 years old.

Cancer: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) size of the cancer treatment backlog in Birmingham and (b) the length of time needed to clear that backlog.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not collected in format requested.

Whipps Cross Hospital: Repairs and Maintenance

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to release funding for the redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department is responsible for the decision-making process on the funding of the redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Treasury on the planned redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Barts Health NHS Trust on the redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital.

Edward Argar: A new hospital at Whipps Cross forms part of the commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are jointly responsible for delivering the programme in collaboration with local National Health Service trusts. All schemes will follow the usual business case process and will be reviewed and agreed with HM Treasury. We have regular discussions with HM Treasury on the delivery of the programme to ensure efficiencies and reduce end-to-end delivery timescalesThe Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement work with all schemes regarding how and when new hospitals will be built across the decade and have regular discussions with Barts Health NHS Trust regarding the development of its plans.

NHS: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff who are unvaccinated against covid-19.

Edward Argar: The latest data published on 27 January 2022 shows that there are currently fewer than 78,000 National Health Service trust healthcare workers who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccination.

Wales Office

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on extending the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with my Cabinet colleagues on a range of energy related matters including on how we tackle fuel poverty. The Warm Homes Discount is a key policy in the Government’s strategy to reduce energy costs for low income and vulnerable households, which is why the Government committed to extend the scheme until 2026 in the Energy White Paper. Since its introduction in 2011, the Warm Home Discount has provided over £3 billion in rebates worth £140 to households, in addition to other forms of support. In 2020/21, over 2.2 million households across Great Britain received a rebate, including over 135,000 households in Wales. The Government consulted on expanding and reforming the scheme from 2022. Under the plans, the total spending will increase from around £350 million to £475 million per year and the value of the rebates will increase to £150. As a result of the additional funding, 780,000 more low-income and vulnerable households will receive rebates on their energy bills every winter, with the majority receiving the money automatically and without having to apply.

Department for Education

Employment Schemes: Young People

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support young people into high quality jobs.

Alex Burghart: The department has introduced a range of skills reforms and published the ‘Skills for Jobs’ white paper in January 2021, which sets out our blueprint to reform post-16 education and training to support young people to get the skills they need to succeed throughout their lives, wherever they live in the country.It is focused on giving people the skills they need now, and in the future, in a way that suits them. We are investing £3.8 billion in further education and skills to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses current and future skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced on 27 October 2021 that we are investing an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in 2024-25 compared with the 2021-22 financial year. This means an investment of up to £615 million in the 2022-23 financial year and is much needed support for our excellent further education sector.This follows the extra £691 million allocated in the previous two years and the specific funding made available to help recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, including the 16-19 Tuition Fund which will make available £400 million over four years (2020-21 academic year until 2023-24 academic year).This investment will support our aim to ensure that every young person has access to an excellent education, and providers can make better decisions around what courses they offer and focus on delivering the skills needed for a thriving and productive economy and society, with a particular emphasis on levelling up.We are introducing T Levels, boosting access to high quality technical education for thousands of 16–19 year olds. Young people are now benefitting from these pioneering new qualifications, designed by employers to ensure students get the skills they need for great jobs.We are supporting the largest-ever expansion of traineeships, providing funding for up to 72,000 places over the next three years. We are introducing more occupational traineeships, which are aligned to apprenticeship standards and will significantly increase the opportunities for young people to progress into apprenticeships or other employment.Funding for apprenticeships in England will grow to £2.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year to support more apprenticeships in employers of all sizes. We are encouraging more young people to consider apprenticeships through our Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme which provides resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeshipsIn January we launched our ‘Get the Jump’ campaign to help young people aged 14-19 to understand their education and training choices, how they compare and where they can lead. Further information can be found here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices.

Vocational Education: Qualifications

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the value of technical qualifications.

Alex Burghart: The government is reforming technical education to ensure that all post-16 students have access to technical options that support progression and meet employer needs. Our reforms will simplify and put employers at the heart of the system, ensuring that all qualifications are fit for purpose, high-quality and lead to good outcomes.We are introducing over 20 T Levels, developed with over 250 leading employers. We are investing in direct support for employers to increase the number of industry placements available across all T Levels and have also established a T Level employer ambassador network to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements. We want all technical qualifications to be high quality and truly necessary, which is why we are reviewing all other technical qualifications at level 3 and below to create a better, more streamlined system.While these reforms are taking place, we have introduced a high value course premium for 16-19 year olds to encourage the take up of high value subjects. In December 2021 we announced that the premium will increase by 50% in the 2022-23 financial year to £600 per student per year.For adults we are introducing of Higher Technical Qualifications, approved through a new opt-in national approvals process as meeting employers’ skills needs. The first of these newly approved qualifications will be available for teaching from September 2022. This will be supported by the new £18 million Higher Technical Education Provider Growth Fund and the investment of up to £290 million to establish a comprehensive network of Institutes of Technology across England.

Office for Students: Finance

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the percentage increase is of funding from his Department to the Office for Students in the financial year 2021-22 compared to 2020-21.

Michelle Donelan: The total Strategic Priorities Grant available to the Office for Students for distribution was £1,433 million in financial year 2021-22, an £11 million (0.8%) increase compared to the previous year. This excludes funding that is distributed by Research England, and one-off capital and non-capital grants for COVID-19.For the last academic year, the Department for Education also provided an additional £85 million to the Office for Students to distribute to higher education providers for supporting students in hardship.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Bob Seely: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of recent trends in pupil absences at schools in England.

Mr Robin Walker: The daily education settings survey asks schools and colleges to report data such as on-site attendance and COVID-19 absence.The most recent published data at national level is 20 January 2022 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Pre-school Education: Staff

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the providers of Early Years Foundation services have adequate numbers of qualified staff from which to recruit.

Will Quince: The department recognises that recruitment and retention are key issues for the early years sector, with local authorities reporting significant pressures on providers. We are working with the sector to build our understanding of the situation in the workforce and how we might support providers in this area.We are committed to supporting the early years sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare.The department has engaged with early years employers to help them develop three high-quality apprenticeships. These are early years educator, practitioner, and lead practitioner, spanning levels 2 to 5. Since academic year 2018/19, over 32,000 early years apprenticeships have been started and we continue to work with employers on developing these apprenticeships to meet the sector’s needs.In September 2020, we launched T Levels in education and childcare. The two-year 16-19 technical programme has been designed by employers to provide direct progression into early years education roles. It is aligned to the early years practitioner level 3 occupational standard and covers the early years educator criteria. Over 500 students enrolled in September 2020/21, and approximately a further 1,500 this academic year.The department continues to fund the early years initial teacher training programme, including grants, bursaries and employer incentives. As part of early years education recovery, we are expanding the number of training places to increase the supply of qualified graduates to the sector.In April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.As part of our education recovery package, we announced a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development. This year we will commission a review of the level 3 early years qualification criteria, through the recovery programme, responding to feedback from the sector. This review will consider how we can improve the quality and rigour of the level 3 early years qualification, including the criteria, through consultation and engagement with stakeholders from across early years.

Pupil Referral Units

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of excluding Pupil Referral Unit schools from the Schools Supplementary Grant on children (a) with behavioural difficulties and (b) in care.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to Pupil Referral Unit schools that are not awarded special needs funding.

Will Quince: Additional funding has been made available to the core schools budget for allocation in the 2022-23 financial year as a result of the 2021 Spending Review. The way that this funding is being allocated reflects differences in how pupil referral units (PRU), special schools and mainstream schools are funded.Mainstream schools are funded through local funding formulae, and the extra funding allocated to the department following the 2021 Spending Review is being allocated in the 2022-23 financial year as a supplementary grant. This is because it was not possible for the department to decide on allocations, and for local authorities to include those within their local formulae, in time.PRUs, special schools and the equivalent academies, on the other hand, are funded from the high needs block of the dedicated schools’ grant (DSG). In December 2021, the department announced additional allocations to local authorities of high needs DSG funding for the 2022-23 financial year, totalling £325 million. The differences in costs and funding for PRUs mean that centrally setting supplementary per-pupil funding rates, as we have done for the supplementary funding for mainstream schools, was not appropriate. Therefore, the department decided that it was better that local authorities decide how to allocate the additional funding to those types of schools, with the same flexibilities as they must deploy the rest of the DSG allocations of high needs funding.PRUs should, therefore, discuss with their local authority any increases as part of the top-up funding paid from authorities’ high needs budgets. Each local authority now knows how much of the additional £325 million high needs funding it will be allocated in the 2022-23 financial year. Nationally, this is an increase of 4% to the high needs allocations announced in July 2021. Authorities should be able to afford some increase to their top-up funding for PRUs and other schools, where that is required to meet the cost increases they are facing.Funding for PRUs comes from mainstream schools’ budgets, for those pupils placed by those schools, as well as from local authorities. There is no distinction in the national funding system between those pupils in PRUs who have special needs, and those who are there for other reasons.

Pre-school Education: Staff

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of staff leaving roles in Early Years Foundation service providers.

Will Quince: The Department for Education has published figures on the total number of paid staff working in childcare and early years provision in a representative, national survey of providers, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021. This report shows that the total number of paid staff working in childcare and early years provision in 2021 was estimated at 328,500. This figure is somewhat lower than in 2019 (344,100) but in line with the estimates for 2019 (331,400). 2019 is the earliest year for which comparable data are available. No comparable data was collected in 2020 because of reprioritisation for COVID-19 reasons.The average (mean) number of paid staff per early years setting remained similar in 2021 compared with 2019 for all provider types.In spring 2022, we will publish a report on the theme of early years workforce, which will include new data on the number of staff leaving roles in early years providers.

Faith Schools: Children in Care

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will amend the School Admissions Code to ensure that faith schools give priority to (a) looked after and (b) previously looked after children when considering applications.

Mr Robin Walker: Schools designated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, as having a religious character (more commonly known as faith schools) may use faith-based oversubscription criteria and allocate places by reference to faith where the school is oversubscribed. As with all other publicly funded mainstream schools, faith schools must offer every child who applies, whether of the faith, another faith or no faith, a place at the school if there are places available.The School Admissions Code already requires admission authorities of all mainstream schools to give priority in their oversubscription criteria to looked after children and previously looked after children.Where a faith school adopts faith-based oversubscription criteria, they must, as a minimum, give priority to all looked after children and previously looked after children of the faith, before giving priority to other children of the faith.Where any element of priority is given in relation to children not of the faith, they must first give priority to looked after children and previously looked after children not of the faith above other children not of the faith.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of school days missed in the 2021-22 academic year by (a) year 6, (b) year 11 and (c) year 13 students.

Mr Robin Walker: The requested data is not yet available.The first data relating to the number of school days missed due to absence in the 2021-22 academic year is currently being collected in the termly school census. It will be published in May 2022 and relate to the autumn term only. It will be available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-term.Data on absence in the full academic year 2021-22 is expected to be published in March 2023 in the National Statistics release “Pupil absence in schools in England” and will be available here:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.The school census collects absence data for pupils of compulsory school age, covering those aged 5 to 15 at the start of the academic year, plus some less detailed information on 4-year-olds. It does not collect data on year 13 students.

Children: Day Care

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure wraparound childcare is available for new parents who wish to return to work.

Will Quince: Ensuring parents can continue to access childcare remains a priority for the government. The department has issued guidance to childcare providers to ensure they can continue to operate whilst reducing transmission of COVID-19, alongside accompanying guidance for parents and carers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. The government announced on 21 December 2021 that a further £102 million would be made available for local authorities to support businesses severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. This grant gives local authorities discretionary funding to support any sector within their area that requires it and this may include wraparound childcare providers. Parents have the ‘right to request’ wraparound childcare and the department has published guidance for schools on how to respond to such requests: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778997/Rights_to_request_guidance-2019.pdf. Schools should not refuse a request without a reasonable justification. All local authorities also have a legal duty to ensure there are sufficient childcare places, so far as is reasonably practicable, for working parents in their area with children aged 0-14, or up to 18 for disabled children. Parents may contact their local Family Information Service who can give advice on childcare providers in their area. New parents may benefit from our Tax-Free Childcare scheme which provides working parents with financial support with their childcare costs. For every £8 a parent or carer deposits into their account, they will receive a £2 top-up, up to the value of £500 every three months, or £1,000 if their child is disabled. Tax-Free Childcare is available for children aged 0-11, or 0-16 if their child is disabled, and can be used for a range of childcare providers, such as childminders, nurseries, and play schemes. It can be also used in conjunction with 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds and can be used to help pay for additional hours a parent wants to take up. We would strongly advise all new parents to find out what government childcare support may be available to them by visiting the government’s Childcare Choices website: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) dedicated and (b) non-dedicated Emotional Literacy Support Assistant are employed by (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools across England and Wales.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) value of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants.

Will Quince: Information on the number of emotional literacy support assistants (ELSAs) or the costs to schools is not collected centrally.The department collects information on staff working in state funded schools in England via the annual School Workforce Census but does not directly identify ELSAs. The results are published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.It is important that schools have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs, and drawing on an evidence base of effective practice. We are aware that some schools make effective use of ELSAs and report positive impacts as part of their wider provision to support the emotional wellbeing of children and young people.

Special Educational Needs: Codes of Practice

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress his Department has made on reviewing the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice review will be published.

Will Quince: The department is currently conducting a major review of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system. In the first three months of this year the department will launch a consultation on our proposals. The department will need to consider the outcome of the consultation to determine whether any legislative changes are required in relation to any parts of the SEND system.The SEND Code of Practice is statutory guidance about the exercise of SEND functions under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The department will therefore be consulting on updating the Code as part of delivering a reformed SEND system.

T-levels

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has undertaken an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the hours on T Level Transition Programmes to bring them into line with T Level Programmes.

Alex Burghart: T Levels are significantly larger than other 16-19 study programmes. They are 2 year courses that include a substantial technical qualification and mandatory 9 week industry placement and cover significant theoretical and practical content to ensure students are able to successfully progress into work or further technical study. The T Level Transition Programme, in contrast, provides an additional year of support and preparation for those students who need it, before they are ready to enrol on a T Level. The differences in the number of funded hours for these programmes reflects their respective purposes and content.From academic year 2022/23, T Levels and the T Level Transition Programmes will benefit from the additional hours the department will be funding for 16-19 education. For a band 5 ‘full-time’ T Level Transition Programme, this will mean an extra 40 hours, taking funded hours up to a minimum of 580 hours, with proportionate increases for smaller programmes. Students may also be able to receive additional small group tuition via the 16-19 Tuition Fund.

Schools: Platinum Jubilee 2022

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department have made for schools to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Mr Robin Walker: To mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the department has commissioned a commemorative book which will be given to all children in state funded primary education across the United Kingdom.The book will celebrate the people and places of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It will teach children about recent and historical events, inspirational people, landmark innovations and inventions during Her Majesty the Queen’s lifetime, and a selection of our best art, design, and culture. The book will also explore the role of the monarch and what the Platinum Jubilee represents, so that children across the country can understand and engage with the celebrations, while broadening their education.Plans for commissioning the book were announced on 26 September 2021 at: www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-achievements-celebrated-in-new-childrens-book-to-mark-the-queens-platinum-jubilee.

Adoption

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) people who have adopted and (b) prospective adopters who are registered as self employed.

Will Quince: This information is not collected centrally for adoptive families or for prospective adopters.The government wants the adoption system to welcome prospective adopters from all walks of life and backgrounds.

Falkland Islands: Armed Conflict

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment on the potential merits of teaching about the Falklands War as part of the national curriculum.

Mr Robin Walker: The history curriculum gives teachers and schools the freedom and flexibility to use specific examples from history to teach pupils about the history of Britain and the wider world, and this can include the Falklands War. Schools and teachers themselves can determine which examples, topics and resources to use to stimulate and challenge pupils and reflect key points in history.Additionally, there is scope within the citizenship curriculum to highlight relevant key historical events. Through citizenship, which is part of the national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4, pupils learn about the key elements of the constitution of the United Kingdom and its relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and the wider world. The subject helps to prepare pupils to play a full and active part in society and teaches them how to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh up evidence, to debate, and to make reasoned arguments. As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.

Pupils: Coronavirus

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures he is putting in place to support pupils with long covid who are taking exams in 2021-22.

Mr Robin Walker: Exams are the best and fairest way of judging students’ performance. Exams give students a fair chance to show their knowledge and understanding of a subject. It is the government’s firm intention that exams and assessments should go ahead this year. The department recognises the disruption many students have experienced and has worked with Ofqual, exam boards, and representatives of the sector to review existing arrangements for exams. This is to ensure they appropriately reflect scenarios arising from the COVID-19 outbreak.Together with Ofqual, the department has confirmed a package of measures, including adaptations to exams and assessments and changes to grading, to ensure fairness and help mitigate the disruption to students’ education.Pupils or students absent from their education for a prolonged period due to long COVID-19 should be supported in the same manner as those absent due to other medium to long-term illnesses or medical conditions.Students with any long-term health conditions, such as long COVID, may be eligible to apply for reasonable adjustments under the existing exam arrangements. Reasonable adjustments are changes made to an assessment or to the way an assessment is conducted that reduce or remove a disadvantage caused by a student’s disability. An example of this could be supervised rest breaks or extra time for assessments. They are needed because some conditions can make it harder for students to show what they know and can do in an assessment than it would have been had the student not been disabled. The Joint Council for Qualification (JCQ) has published detailed guidance on reasonable adjustments.Furthermore, where students miss an assessment in a subject, for example due to illness, but have completed other exams or non-exam assessments in that subject, they may be able to use the existing special consideration process to apply to receive a grade based on the assessments they did complete. The JCQ has also published guidance on when students may be eligible for special consideration and how it works.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Regulation 31(b) of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work, whether the discretion open to the Director of Legal Aid Casework on all cases where resources of a capital nature are being valued is exercised by the Director or delegated to Legal Aid Agency caseworkers.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance and training is given to Legal Aid Agency call handlers to ensure that legal aid applicants with trapped capital such as low income homeowners, are made aware of the discretion set out in (a) Regulation 31(b) of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work and (b) section 5.3 of the Legal Aid Agency Means Assessment Guidance when they ask legal aid applicants about eligibility.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) guidance and training he has put in place and (b) other steps he has taken to help ensure that Legal Aid Agency call handlers are aware of the judgment of 24 November 2020 in R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin) and accordingly notify legal aid applicants with trapped capital who enquire about their eligibility.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) guidance and training he has put in place and (b) other steps he has taken to help ensure that Legal Aid Agency caseworkers assessing means are aware of the judgment of 24 November 2020 in R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin) and appropriately highlight cases where discretion may be exercised and refer those applications for decision.

James Cartlidge: The statutory role of Director of Legal Aid Casework was created under section 4 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). The primary role of the Director is to make determinations about eligibility for legal aid funding in individual cases. In making individual determinations the Director must act independently of Ministers, applying the relevant statutory framework.Under s.5(3) of LASPO the functions of the Director may be exercised by employees of, or a person authorised by, the Director for that purpose. This would include civil servants employed by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) for the purposes of determining applications for funding.Determinations about eligibility for legal aid, including whether to exercise discretion under Regulation 31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, are generally made by LAA staff under delegated authority from the Director, applying the guidance set out in the Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work.Any decision to refer a determination about eligibility for legal aid upwards to the Director is taken by caseworkers and managers based on the information in individual applications.Typically, applications for civil legal aid are submitted to the LAA on behalf of applicants by a legal representative using the LAA’s Client and Cost Management System (CCMS). The legal representative would provide initial advice regarding financial eligibility and would include any submissions regarding the exercise of discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013 within the application submitted to the LAA, where applicable.LAA call handlers would not generally be expected, or required, to ask legal aid applicants about their financial eligibility. Call handlers are not responsible for determining financial eligibility for legal aid. Financial eligibility for legal aid can only be determined by the Director or LAA staff upon submission of a fully completed application for legal aid.However, LAA call handlers are aware of the guidance regarding the Director’s discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, as set out at section 6.3 of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work. In particular, section 6.3 makes clear the outcome of the judgment in the case of R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin) and how this should be applied when determining financial eligibility. Call handlers will direct individuals to this published guidance where they receive calls enquiring about financial eligibility. Call handlers undertake regular training in all areas of legal aid work and any changes to regulations and guidance are cascaded to LAA staff, including call handlers.Under s.4 of LASPO the Lord Chancellor may provide directions or guidance about the carrying out of the Director’s functions. The Director must comply with the directions given by the Lord Chancellor and must have regard to guidance given by the Lord Chancellor about the carrying out of those functions.However, the Lord Chancellor must not give a direction or guidance about the carrying out of the Director’s functions in relation to an individual legal aid application. In addition, the Lord Chancellor must ensure the Director acts independently of the Lord Chancellor when applying a direction or guidance to an individual case.Any directions or guidance given by the Lord Chancellor must be published. In this case the Lord Chancellor has, following the judgment in R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin), published guidance regarding the exercise of discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, at section 6.3 of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work.Any steps to disseminate guidance to LAA staff, including call handlers and means assessors, or to organise relevant training, is properly the responsibility of the LAA’s Chief Executive (currently the role of Chief Executive and the Director are held by the same individual) and not the Lord Chancellor.However, I understand all LAA staff who are responsible for making determinations on financial eligibility undertake comprehensive training, are provided with relevant guidance materials, and follow defined processes to ensure they are able to make reasonable and consistent decisions.

Administration of Justice: Saudi Arabia

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he discussed support for Saudi Arabia's judicial system at his meeting with that country's justice minister in London on 25 January 2022.

James Cartlidge: The Secretary of State for Justice discussed a range of issues with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, including human rights, women’s rights and judicial reform.

Offenders: Females

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishing women's residential centres in Wales as part of his Department's Female Offender Strategy.

Victoria Atkins: On 5 May 2020, the Government announced the first Residential Women’s Centre will be in Wales. Working closely with partners, including the Welsh Government and local authorities, we are making good progress towards the purchase of a site which, if successful, would then be submitted into a planning application process.We have developed a specification for the service delivery and building design in partnership with providers, probation staff and women with lived experience amongst others.

Ministry of Justice: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

James Cartlidge: (i) In the last 10 years the Ministry of Justice has carried out post-legislative scrutiny of one of 17 Acts that have received Royal Assent since 2012 – the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In addition, as part of the Department’s routine work, officials and Ministers regularly consider how best to make improvements to the justice system, and this includes looking at how recent legislation has performed.(ii) The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on secondary legislation in the last 10 years is not held within the Department.This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structures in the past decade.

Prison Officers: Resignations

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many resignations of prison officers there were in each month of 2010 and each subsequent year to 2021; and what the annual leaving rate was as a proportion of the workforce in those time periods.

Victoria Atkins: The resignation volume for prison officers for each month between January 2010 to September 2021 has been provided in a separate excel table. Table 1 shows the annual leaving rate of prison officers between 2009/10 and 2020/21 (by financial year). The latest published data has also been provided for 12 months to 30 September 2021.  Table 1: Underlying leaving rate of band 3-5 permanent prison officers1, 2009/10 to 2020/21, and 12 months to September 2021(Headcount) 2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/2112 Months to 30 September 2021Leaving rate3.4%3.7%4.2%4.8%4.9%7.1%7.8%9.7%10.3%11.5%12.2%9.1%11.1%Source:HMPPS - Oracle HRMS and Single Operating Platform Data quality and scope: Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables. Notes:1). Prison officers include includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.2). Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables.3). Staff with a permanent contract of employment with HMPPS.4). As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However, the database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate.5). Does not include voluntary early departure or redundancy. In past editions of the HMPPS workforce statistical release, early retirements were also excluded from the calculation of leaving rates. Since the workforce statistics bulletin covering the period to 30 June 2017, these exits have been included in the leaving rate.(p) Figures relating to current financial year are provisional and may be subject to change in future iterations of the HMPPS workforce statistical release.106830_table (xlsx, 19.8KB)

Ministry of Justice: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

James Cartlidge: (i) In 2017 the Ministry of Justice submitted one Post-Legislative Memorandum to the Justice Select Committee. It has not submitted any other Memoranda in the last 5 years. In addition, as part of the Department’s routine work, officials and Ministers regularly consider how best to make improvements to the justice system, and this includes looking at how recent legislation has performed.(ii) The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on secondary legislation in each of the last five years is not held within the Department.This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structures in the past decade.

Probation: Resignations

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many resignations of probation officers there were in each month of 2010 and each subsequent year to 2021; and what the annual leaving rate was as a proportion of the workforce in those time periods.

Kit Malthouse: The MoJ only holds data on the resignation volume for probation officers and the annual leaving rate of probation officers since the creation of the National Probation service in June 2014.The resignation volume for probation officers for each month between June 2014 to September 2021 has been provided in a separate excel table.Table 1 shows the annual leaving rate of probation officers between 2014/15 and 2020/21 (by financial year). The latest published data has also been provided for 12 months to 30 September 2021.Table 1: Underlying leaving rate of permanent probation officers1, 2014/15 to 2020/21, and 12 months to September 2021(headcount) 2014/152015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/2112 Months to 30 September 2021Leaving rate (%)5.55.25.75.16.56.35.16.9Source:HMPPS - Oracle HRMS and Single Operating PlatformData quality and scope: Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables.(p) Figures relating to current financial year are provisional and may be subject to change in future iterations of the HMPPS workforce statistical release.Notes:1). Permanent staff are those with a permanent contract of employment with HMPPS.2). Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service in late June 20213). As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate.4). Does not include voluntary early departure or redundancy. In past editions of the bulletin, early retirements were also excluded from the calculation of leaving rates. Since the workforce statistics bulletin covering the period to 30 June 2017, these exits have been included in the leaving rate.5). The service of NPS staff in Probation Trusts prior to the creation of the NPS on 1 June 2014 is not included. Figures presented here therefore do not represent the full experience of Probation Officers.Table (xlsx, 19.5KB)

Prison Officers: Standards

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cumulative number of years of experience held by all prison officers in each year since 2010.

Victoria Atkins: The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all prison officers is given in the following table. Most years’ figures are given as at 31st December each year, aside from 2021, where the latest published figures are as at 30 September 2021. Table 1 – Band 3-5 Prison Officers1 in England and Wales cumulative length of service2, as at 31st December each year from 2010 to 2020 and September 20213 DateNumber of Prison officers in post (Full Time Equivalent)Cumulative Length of Service of all prison officers31/12/201024,501329,35331/12/201123,054326,56331/12/201221,842326,67831/12/201318,731287,92131/12/201417,795278,25431/12/201518,235272,08631/12/201617,887261,60731/12/201719,925253,66531/12/201822,722248,00831/12/201922,154246,37531/12/202021,564243,03630/09/202122,325242,482 Notes to tables:1. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers2. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS3. As of 1st July 2019, HMP Birmingham has come back under public ownership. Figures for its staff are now included in the staff in post figures4. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.

Prisoners' Release

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released in each of the last three years.

Victoria Atkins: Data on the number of prisoners who have been released is published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication by the Ministry of Justice. The total number of prisoners who have been released in each of the last three years is given in the following table: Year201820192020Number released69,62262,77153,253

Probation: Pay

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the base salary and salary progression of a probation officer and its impact on officer retention.

Kit Malthouse: In April 2021, we published the first national Recruitment and Retention Strategy for the Probation Service, which identified several key areas of focus. The Strategy aims to address recruitment and retention challenges within the Probation Service. We have identified common drivers of attrition across those regions where it is more challenging to recruit and retain probation officers. We remain committed to developing a fair and enduring reward package for all Probation Service staff and hope to do so through agreement of a multi-year deal.In recent years we have raised starting salaries for many of our workforce, including probation officers, improving our offer for new entrants.

Probation: Pay

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the starting salary of a probation officer and (b) the impact of that salary on recruitment.

Kit Malthouse: In April 2021 we published to all Probation Service staff the first national Recruitment and Retention Strategy for the Probation Service. We committed to recruiting 1,000 trainee probation officers by the end of 2020/2021. The HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) workforce quarterly statistics update, published on 20 May 2021, confirmed that we reached our target with a total of 1,007 trainees. We remain committed to developing a fair and enduring reward package for Probation Service staff and hope to do so through agreement of a multi-year pay deal.In recent years we have raised base salaries for many of our workforce, including probation officers, improving our offer for new entrants.

Probation: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average training period was for a recruit to qualify as a probation officer in each year since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: Since 2016, the Professional Qualification in Probation has offered two routes to qualification: a 15-month route and a 21-month route. Learners have been split across this route on a consistent 41:59 ratio since 2016.Prior to 2016 and from 2010 there were three entry points to the Probation Qualification Framework depending on experience and previous qualifications, the longest of which took 27 months.

Probation: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost was to train a new probation officer in each year since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: Training costs are variable depending on a number of factors, not limited to; the qualification route the trainee is on, the salary of the trainee, the salary of individual’s supporting the trainee. We would not be able to provide an average annual cost as the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and would contain commercially sensitive information relating to partner suppliers at a time when we are tendering the current contracts.

Probation: Vacancies

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential for a Serious Further Offence as a result of staff shortages and caseloads within the Probation Service.

Kit Malthouse: The Probation Service is committed to increasing recruitment to fill probation officer vacancies to maintain acceptable caseload numbers. The risk of an offender under supervision committing a serious further offence can never be entirely eliminated, but the Probation Service has systems and processes in place to mitigate that risk, including identifying those offenders who are high risk and ensuring that they are allocated to experienced probation officers.

Probation

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases on average a probation officer is currently handling.

Kit Malthouse: 96% of Probation staff (Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers) hold less than 50 cases, with an average caseload of 34 (rounded down to nearest full number).The average caseload for the 4% who hold over 50 cases is 59.

Probation

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases on average a probation officer should be handling.

Kit Malthouse: The Probation Service Target Operating Model does not indicate an expected caseload for Probation Officers or Probation Service Officers. A recent (March, 2021) HMIP report on caseloads identifies that a “precise target number for caseload cannot be set as there are too many inter-connected variables” (HMIP, 2021, pp4).

Probation: Standards

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current workloads within the Probation Service.

Kit Malthouse: The Probation Service (PS) is committed to providing a quality service in order to achieve its mission of protecting the public, supporting victims and reducing reoffending. While we are working towards a full complement of staff, it is essential that we have appropriate measures in place to ensure resources are available to match the workload demands. We are about to launch a new workload management tool which will provide clarity over how we; understand workload, prioritise work, make decisions that change delivery expectations and optimise the resource.

Probation: Resignations

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of new probation officers left the service within two years of joining in each year since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: Table 1 shows the number of qualified probation officers who joined in each financial year. Of those probation officers who joined in that particular year, we have shown the volume and percentage of those who left the service within two years.Table 1 - Percentage of all Band 4 Probation Officers Joiners who left within two years1,2 - based on date of joining, 2015/16 to 2020/21, and 12 months to September 2021(headcount)2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/21 12 months to 30 September 20214Band 4 Probation Officer1 joiners in each year863874115465750Of which those who left within 2 years31291830151111Percentage of joiners who left within two years314%24%24%26%33%19%22% Source:HMPPS - Oracle HRMS and Single Operating PlatformData quality and scope: Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables.(p) Figures relating to current financial year are provisional and may be subject to change in future iterations of the HMPPS workforce statistical release.Notes:1). Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables. Such movements are: 8,430 FTE staff transferring into HMPPS from Probation Trusts in June 2014 and more than 7,000 staff from private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service in late June 2021.2). Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.3). The service of NPS staff in Probation Trusts prior to the creation of the NPS on 1 June 2014 is not included, therefore the earliest full annual data available is from 2015/16. Figures presented here therefore do not represent the full experience of Probation Officers.4). Data is based on hire date and not the leaving date. For example, if someone joined in 2018/19 but left in 2020/21 then they will be recorded against the year they joined (2018/19 not 2020/21). Please note, this approach is different to how data in published and so this will not match published statistics.5). Due to the approach outlined, figures for most recent periods will be lower, as 2 years will not have elapsed since time of joining.

Probation: Vacancies

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many posts are unfilled within the Probation Service.

Kit Malthouse: There was a shortfall of 1,039 full-time equivalent staff in the probation service at 30 September 2021.

Probation: Staff

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in the (a) regional and (b) national probation service teams.

Kit Malthouse: The Probation Service is committed to increasing recruitment to fill Probation Officer vacancies, particularly in regions with significant local employment market challenges. Staffing levels are monitored on an ongoing basis through operational management and plans around recruitment and retention.In 2020/21, we recruited a record 1,007 trainee probation officers. We are further increasing our recruitment to unprecedented levels, with a target 1500 trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) being recruited this financial year (2021/2022). A further 1,500 PQiPs to be recruited in financial year 2022/23.Our Recruitment and Retention Strategy focuses on addressing recruitment and retention challenges within the Probation Service, particularly for those Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) with the highest average Probation Officer vacancy rates over a 12-month period.We have identified common drivers of attrition across those regions where it is more challenging to recruit and retain probation officers. Work is currently underway to address all drivers of attrition alongside a targeted recruitment campaign to reduce probation officer vacancy rates in regions with high vacancy levels.

Prisoners' Release: Housing

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the £70 million announced for prison leaver accommodation on 19 January 2021, how (a) much of this funding has been spent and (b) many prison leavers have been housed.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release of 19 January 2021 on prison leavers, what the evidential basis was for his conclusion that offenders were around 50 per cent more likely to break the law again if released without somewhere to stay.

Kit Malthouse: In January 2021, we announced a £70 million investment to reduce crime and improve public safety by tackling these key drivers of reoffending. We are investing £50 million to enhance the department’s Approved Premises, provide temporary accommodation to prison leavers at risk of homelessness, and enhance resettlement support for prisoners before and after release. A further £20 million of funding has been allocated for the Prison Leavers Project that will test innovative ways to reduce reoffending by addressing the challenges people face when they are leaving prison. Statutory accounts will be submitted in due course. Accommodation circumstances for offenders are reported annually as official statistics. Data for the period 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be published in July 2022 in the Community Performance Annual report. In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, access to these statistics before their public release is limited to those involved in the production of the statistics and the preparation of the release, and for quality assurance and operational purposes. The thematic inspection report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation on Accommodation and support for adult offenders showed that prison leavers without stable accommodation are almost 50 per cent more likely to reoffend. The report was released in July 2020 and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/accommodationthematic/.

Prison Officers: Training

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band 3 to 5 prison officers have received training to deal with terrorist or extremist prisoners.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) content and (b) length of each module in the training programme delivered to prison officers to deal with terrorist or extremist prisoners.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of prison officer training programmes for dealing with terrorist or extremist prisoners.

Victoria Atkins: Counter terrorism training is available to all prison staff either remotely, when it is more convenient for establishments, or face-to-face. Training is now also more flexible, with sessions available in evenings and at weekends.We started recording grade specific data in April 2021. Since then, a total of 6,893 band 3-5 prison officers have received Counter Terrorism training. This includes:3,483 existing Band 3-5 Prison Officers; andAll 3,410 new Band 3 Prison Officers who have received CT training as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training induction courseWhilst grade specific data has only been recorded since April 2021, all new officers Bands 3-5 have received ASPECTS (CT training) as part of their initial training, since 2017.2.a) The content of the counter terrorism training course is not published. There are no plans for publication due to the sensitive nature of the course and the risk it would pose to maintaining good order in prisons and national security.b) The training course is one module and involves half a day of face-to-face delivery. 3. The current Counter Terrorism training package is ASPECTS (Awareness for Staff on Prevent Extremism and the Counter Terrorism Strategy) and was developed by prison counter terrorism experts, counter-terrorism police and training specialists. It aims to provide staff working in prisons with an improved understanding of Counter Terrorism, radicalisation, and extremist ideologies which can be applied to their daily work with prisoners and improve staff confidence in challenging behaviours that are contrary to our fundamental values. The training package has undergone regular reviews to ensure it is up to date and responsive to feedback from trainers and attendees, which has been largely positive. In 2021, an external company also conducted a review and these findings, as well as data and responses from user surveys, will play a key role in the redevelopment of our training package, which is currently underway. Critical success factors for the redeveloped course are being established to ensure robust ongoing evaluation.

Treasury

Question

Bob Blackman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that Equitable Life policyholders who invested in regulated products will be entitled to similar levels of compensation to those who invested in unregulated mini-bonds marketed by London Capital and Finance.

John Glen: The schemes are not comparable as there are important differences between the situations at Equitable Life and London Capital Finance. The Government compensation schemes in each case sought to achieve a fair outcome for investors and taxpayers based on the particular circumstances surrounding each firm.

Question

Anthony Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the competitiveness of the financial services sector.

John Glen: In his Mansion House statement last July, the Chancellor set out the Government’s vision an open, competitive, green, and technologically advanced financial services. A sweeping set of reforms to sharpen the UK’s competitive advantage in financial services is already underway; and in November the Government published the second consultation in its Future Regulatory Framework review, which provides a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that the UK maintains a coherent, agile, and internationally respected approach to financial services regulation.

Fraud

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations into fraud, scams and economic crime his Department has conducted in each of the last five years.

John Glen: HM Treasury is a policy-making department and does not undertake investigations, except for the work of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). As the competent authority for the implementation of financial sanctions in the UK, OFSI supports efforts to tackle economic crime by ensuring that financial sanctions are properly understood and enforced. OFSI investigates all reported suspected breaches of financial sanctions. Its Annual Review publications are available on GOV.UK and provide further information about OFSI’s work.

Fraud

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations into fraud, scams and economic crime have resulted in money being returned to the public purse in each of the last five years.

John Glen: Data on detected and prevented fraud and error, and trends in recoveries in the public sector are published annually by the Cabinet Office Government Counter Fraud Function (GCFF). The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Bulletin is available on GOV.UK. The outcomes of investigations into fraud, scams and economic crime are not centrally collated. Investigations are conducted by the appropriate Department with responsibility for policy delivery. Investigations and enforcement activities are also undertaken by regulatory or enforcement agencies, such as the Financial Conduct Authority and National Crime Agency.

Fraud

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s budget has been for tackling fraud, scams and economic crime in each of the last five years.

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many FTE staff in his Department have worked on tackling fraud and economic crime in each of the last five years.

John Glen: HM Treasury takes a flexible and dynamic approach to resourcing to meet Government priorities. We have teams delivering priority work including economic crime reform. However, we do not routinely record the number of full time equivalent civil servants who work on individual policy initiatives. Most of the responsibility for tackling fraud and economic crime is led by the Departments tasked with delivering Government policy. Investigations and enforcement activities are also undertaken by regulatory or enforcement agencies, including the Financial Conduct Authority and National Crime Agency respectively. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, ensures financial sanctions are properly understood and enforced and investigates all reported suspected breaches.

Poverty: Rutherglen and Hamilton West

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people living in destitution in Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.

Mr Simon Clarke: The latest official statistics show that in 2019-20 there were 3,741 children in relative low income and 3,082 children in absolute low income in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, before housing costs.We know that work is the best route out of poverty, which is why the government is investing more than £6 billion in labour market support over the next three years to help people move into, and progress in work.

Lord Agnew of Oulton

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he received correspondence Lord Agnew of Oulton on fraud in the coronavirus business loan schemes in the last three months.

Helen Whately: As a former joint HM-Treasury Minister and Cabinet Office, the Chancellor and Lord Agnew of Oulton met regularly to discuss issues, including fraud, as part of Lord Agnew’s remit overseeing the Cabinet Office Counter Fraud Function.

Red Diesel

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals to restrict the use of red diesel from April 2022 on the mining and quarrying industry.

Helen Whately: At Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. This will more fairly reflect the negative environmental impact of the emissions they produce and help to ensure that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies. The Government recognised that this would be a significant change for some businesses and ran a consultation to gather information from affected users on the expected impact of these tax changes and make sure it had not overlooked any exceptional reasons why affected sectors should be allowed to continue to use red diesel beyond April 2022. During the consultation period, the Government engaged directly with a wide variety of organisations, including representatives of the mining and quarrying sector. However, the Government did not believe that the case made by sectors that will not retain their red diesel entitlement, including the mining and quarrying sector, outweighed the need to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and the Government’s environmental objectives. To support the development of alternatives that affected businesses can switch to, the Government is at least doubling the funding provided for energy innovation through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. From that portfolio, the Government announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will provide grant funding for projects that develop and demonstrate lower carbon, lower cost alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023, companies can also claim 130% first-year capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery investments.

Lord Agnew of Oulton

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what occasions he met with Lord Agnew of Oulton in the last three months; and what the topics of those meetings were.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what occasions (a) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, (b) the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, (c) the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and (d) the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury met with Lord Agnew of Oulton in the last three months; and what the topics of those meetings were.

Helen Whately: The Chancellor and Ministers in HM Treasury regularly met with Lord Agnew as part of their Ministerial duties.

City Deals and Local Growth Deals: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Government has allocated to the (a) Belfast Region City Deal, (b) Derry and Strabane Region City Deal, (c) Mid South West Growth Deal and (d) Causeway Coast and Glens Growth Deal in the 2021 Spending Review.

Mr Simon Clarke: The UK Government has committed to investing £617 million into four City and Growth Deals spanning Northern Ireland. This includes:£350 million for the Belfast Region Deal;£105 million for the Derry City and Strabane City Deal and the Inclusive Future Fund;£126 million for the Mid South West Deal and;£36 million for the Causeway Coast and Glens Deal.Funding for City and Growth Deals is allocated through the Estimates process.

Cost of Living: Disability

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he is providing to people with disabilities to help them cope with the rising cost of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government is forecast to spend over £58 billion in 21/22 on benefits to support disabled people in Great Britain. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the government’s primary means of supporting working-age adults with the extra costs arising from having a disability and is paid regardless of income and irrespective of whether someone is in work. The government will spend over £12.2 billion to support 2.1 million people on PIP in 21/22. Those who have a disability or health condition which limits their ability to work can get additional support through Universal Credit (UC) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). For those with limited capability for work or work-related activity, this includes an additional component in UC, worth £79.30 per week.The government is also providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help with the cost of living. This includes the £500 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable households with costs for essentials such as energy bills, food, clothing, and utilities over the winter. The Household Support Fund adds to the support already in place to help those on low incomes with the cost of living, including:£140 million in 2021-22 for Discretionary Housing Payments;£670 million in 2021-22 for local authorities to support households struggling with their council tax bills;£200m each year of the Spending Review to continue the Holiday Activities and Food programme; andincreasing the value of Healthy Start vouchers.

Regional Planning and Development

Robin Millar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in levelling up all regions of the UK.

Helen Whately: Levelling up is our defining mission. It was the golden thread running through the Autumn Budget and Spending Review.We are supporting businesses to thrive through expanded British Business Bank programmes, including a £130 million new investment fund in Wales.We are supporting local infrastructure with £121 million for 10 projects in Wales through the first round of the Levelling Up Fund. And we are launching the over £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Business: Coronavirus

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish any strategy he has produced on preventing fraud in the coronavirus business support schemes.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what strategy his Department has put in place for recovering fraudulent loans or grants made as part of the covid-19 business support schemes; and if he will publish that strategy.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has consistently stated that fraud is totally unacceptable, and we are taking action on multiple fronts to recover money lost to error and fraud and, where necessary, taking legal action on those who have sought to exploit the COVID-19 support schemes. It was right to establish the schemes quickly and in a way that they could be accessed easily by the millions who needed support. Given the unprecedented efforts that the Government has made to protect jobs and livelihoods during this pandemic, it would have been impossible to prevent all related fraud. In designing the COVID-19 support schemes the Government followed the leading practice of the International Public Sector Fraud Forum on dealing with fraud in an emergency context. The dedicated Government Counter Fraud Function and Centre of Expertise re-prioritised its work to focus on COVID Financial Support schemes. It provided fraud risk assessment support, offered expert counter fraud advice, and created data driven tools to Government departments to help prevent, detect, and recover fraud. The Fraud Function continues to offer post event assurance support to Government departments to find and fight fraud. Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key COVID-19 support schemes from their inception. For instance, to minimise the risk of fraud and error and unverified claims, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme were designed in a way to prevent ineligible claims being made up front and made payments for employees and businesses using existing data held on HMRC’s systems. That included cut-off dates around scheme eligibility and the need for customers to be registered for pay-as-you-earn online or self-assessment. To further bolster anti-fraud measures on HMRC-delivered COVID-19 support schemes, the Government invested more than £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of more than 1,200 HMRC staff to combat COVID-19-related fraud, which was announced at Spring Budget 2021. This Taskforce is expected to recover between £800 million and £1 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments during the years 2021-22 and 2022-23. In addition, HMRC has so far stopped or recovered £743 million of overclaimed grants in the year 2020-21. For local authority administered business grants, local authorities are responsible for ensuring the safe administration of grants and that appropriate measures are put in place to mitigate the increased risks of fraud and payment error. Guidance for the grant schemes requires that local authorities have assurance plans in place which set out the steps they would take to minimise fraud. The Government has mandated pre-payment checks (company and bank account searches) as well as post-event assurance, and a Fraud Risk Assessment, as standard elements of this plan. Where grants have been paid in error, non-compliantly or to a fraudster, local authorities must seek to recover these funds and return them to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). If local authorities have been unable to reclaim the grant, the case may be referred to BEIS under the Debt Recovery Policy to establish the next steps. Local Authorities are required to demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable and practicable steps to reclaim incorrectly paid grant funds. In respect of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the Government continues to work closely with the British Business Bank, lenders, and enforcement agencies to tackle fraud and to recover as many fraudulent loans as possible. This is on top of the £2.2 billion worth of fraudulent applications that were prevented by upfront checks. In addition, as part of the Spring Budget 2021, the Government announced plans to significantly strengthen enforcement activity against fraudulent Bounce Back Loans, including new powers for the Insolvency Service to tackle rogue directors, and investing in the National Investigation Service to investigate serious fraud.

Taxation: Electronic Government

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has the Treasury made of the efficacy of introducing a price-cap on software to be used under the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax regime.

Lucy Frazer: The Government expects software compatible with Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self-Assessment to be available at a range of prices, as we have seen with software for MTD for VAT. We have committed to free market-provided products which meet customers’ basic MTD needs. Many software options will combine MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment functions with other tools, such as invoicing, giving businesses the opportunity for wider digital benefits. For MTD for VAT, software developers are currently providing 22 free products, supporting the smallest businesses and landlords with straightforward affairs. HMRC has liaised extensively with the software market to ensure a range of software products, which includes affordable and free options, are made available to businesses. Some software providers have also indicated that current MTD for VAT software is likely to be upgraded for free for MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 35 of the Centre for Business Research’s May 2021 Report on R&D tax credits, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of that report's (a) conclusion that there is no justification for an R&D subsidy and (b) other policy recommendations.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to exhibition 1 on page 12 of the Centre for Business Research’s May 2021 Report on R&D tax credits, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the decrease in self-funded levels of R&D spending since 1999.

Lucy Frazer: Innovation and technological progress are central to driving long-term growth and improving living standards. Evidence shows that countries with higher Research and Development (R&D) activity tend to have higher productivity. The latest evaluations published by HMRC show that while the R&D expenditure credit scheme for large companies generates £2.40-£2.70 of additional R&D expenditure for each £1 of tax relief claimed, the small and medium enterprise scheme generates £0.60-£1.28 for each £1 of tax relief claimed. The Government continues to consider other areas for reform as part of the ongoing review, in addition to the announcements set out at Autumn Budget 2021. In considering other reforms, the Government’s objectives remain to ensure that the UK remains a competitive location for cutting edge research, that the reliefs continue to be fit for purpose, and that taxpayer money is effectively targeted.

Child Benefit: Fraud

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters and emails has his Department's Complaints Team received relating to allegations of child benefit fraud by a recipient living in Russia and no longer habitually resident in the UK, since 2020; how many allegations of child benefit fraud his Department has received about a recipient living in Russia and no longer habitually resident in the UK, since August 2020; and how many cases his Department has been alerted to where a person in receipt of child benefit was believed to be living in Russia and subject to legal proceedings in that country since 2020.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the longest investigation by his Department is involving a potential child benefit fraud case where the recipient is believed to be living in Russia.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in how many and what proportion of child benefit fraud cases has the recipient been believed to have relocated from the UK and where the Department has continued to make payments, in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of time was that child benefit claims have continued to be paid following an allegation to the Department that an individual had left the UK and was no longer habitually resident in the UK, in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department were working on cases involving allegations of child benefit fraud where the recipient had left the UK and was believed to be living overseas, as of 26 January 2022.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many benefits fraud cases involving child benefit his Department was investigating involving a child considered at risk where the child was residing in Russia, as of 26 January 2022.

Mr Simon Clarke: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be obtained/compiled/collated at disproportionate cost.

Special Educational Needs: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Education on the (a) viability, (b) potential merits and (b) impact on educational outcomes for children in the North of increasing special needs funding to local authorities.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Department for Education’s Spending Review settlement provides for £2.6 billion over the SR period to create more than 30,000 new high-quality school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) nationally, more than tripling current capital funding levels to over £900 million by 24-25. This funding will create high-quality new school places in mainstream and special schools, improve suitability and accessibility of existing buildings, and fund new special and alternative provision free schools to drive up standards for pupils across England, including in the North. Alongside this transformational investment in capital funding, the core schools settlement provides an additional £4.7 billion for schools by 2024-25, which will enable increases in high needs funding for local authorities in response to rising demand for specialist support. DfE will allocate this funding between local authorities through the high needs national funding formula, as part of its annual funding process. HM Treasury Ministers and officials will continue to hold regular discussions with their counterparts at DfE on the best way to use this funding to support outcomes for children with SEND, including working together on reviewing the high needs funding arrangements and the SEND system as a whole.

Prime Minister

Veterans: Testing

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Prime Minister, With reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 19 November 2021, official report, column 577, when he plans to meet with the nuclear testing veterans.

Boris Johnson: The Prime Minister has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Prime Minister: Meetings

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will publish details of planned meetings that he has (a) cancelled or (b) been unable to attend in (i) December 2021 and (ii) January 2022.

Boris Johnson: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk. There are no current plans to change that. Ministerial diaries frequently change to reflect wider government and Parliamentary business. The purpose of such transparency returns is to list what meetings actually take place.

British Nationals Abroad: Afghanistan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Prime Minister, whether his Parliamentary Private Secretary arranged or attempted to arrange any charter flights to evacuate (a) any animals, (b) any constituents from Slough constituency and (c) any of the other remaining UK nationals in Afghanistan as of 27 January 2022.

Mr Ben Wallace: I have been asked to reply. I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Putney on 31 January in PQ 112703.

Ministry of Defence

United Arab Emirates: Military Bases

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British troops were present at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE during the Houthi attack on 24 January 2022.

James Heappey: There were no UK personnel present at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE during the Houthi attack on 24 January 2022.

Ukraine: Antitank Missiles

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Ukraine's Azov Battalion will have access to UK-supplied NLAW anti-tank weapons.

James Heappey: As the Secretary of State announced to the House on 17 January, the UK has provided Ukraine with "light, anti-armour defensive weapons systems" as part of an enhanced security assistance package. Included in that support is short-term training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, provided by a small number of UK personnel, within the framework of Operation ORBITAL: the UK's long-term defensive training mission in Ukraine, before returning to the UK. The UK has not and does not currently provide training or assistance to the National Guard Unit of Ukraine, this includes the Azov Battalion.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of compensation provision through Veterans UK, War Pensions and AFCS.

Leo Docherty: The Department is committed to ensuring that the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and War Pension Scheme (WPS) deliver for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure that this is the case. The Central Advisory Committee on Compensation (CAC) provides an on-going opportunity for Armed Forces charities and representatives to discuss all aspects of compensation. Veterans UK is the public facing name of Veterans Services provided by Defence Business Services (DBS), an enabling organisation of the Ministry of Defence. The disruption caused by the COVID pandemic impacted the ability of DBS to meet targets for the administration of both AFCS and WPS. However, the return to office working in 2021 significantly increased operational capacity and the implementation of a recovery plan has greatly reduced processing times. AFCS processing now meets the 90-day target and WPS is expected to recover the 127-day target in February 2022. Veterans UK has also embarked on a £40 million programme to digitalise its services which will improve customer experience, speed up processing and reduce cost.

Ministry of Defence: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Leo Docherty: There is an Armed Forces Bill every five years to renew the Armed Forces Act 2006. The provisions of the 2006 Act were therefore subject to review as part of the work to prepare for the Armed Forces Acts of 2011, 2016 and 2021.The Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Act 2018 amended the Armed Forces Act 2006. The 2018 Act was therefore also subject to review as part of the work to prepare for the Armed Forces Act 2021.Secondary legislation is kept under review as part of day to day management to ensure it remains up to date with changes in policy or legislation.

Ministry of Defence: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Leo Docherty: There is an Armed Forces Bill every five years to renew the Armed Forces Act 2006. The provisions of the 2006 Act were therefore subject to review as part of the work to prepare for the Armed Forces Acts of 2011, 2016 and 2021.The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Act 2015 and the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Act 2018 amended the Armed Forces Act 2006. The 2015 and 2018 Acts were therefore also subject to review as part of the work to prepare for the Armed Forces Act 2021.The Defence Reform Act 2014 completed its first statutory review in 2017. A second statutory review will conclude with a Command Paper due to be published later this year.Secondary legislation is kept under review as part of day to day management to ensure it remains up to date with changes in policy or legislation.

Armed Forces: Death

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed service personnel who have served in the armed forces since 2001 have died as a result of (a) suicide and (b) another cause of death.

Leo Docherty: Statistical information for suicide in the Armed Forces, from 1984 to present, is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/972333/20210325_UK_AF_Suicide_National_Statistic_Accessible_Web_ready_2021_O.pdf Statistical information and cause of deaths in Service in general is available at the following link from 2010 to present, this includes the period 2001-2010 in the 2010 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-deaths-in-service-statistics-index

York: Military Bases

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his plans to close military sites in York, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of the transport infrastructure available to his Department's facilities in York compared to Catterick and (b) the impact on his Department's decarbonisation plans of closing facilities in York.

Jeremy Quin: Defence uses specialist transport and infrastructure studies to appreciate the opportunities and constraints for Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites in both Catterick and York. Work continues following the Future Soldier announcement. Decarbonisation plans are assessed by the Local Authority as part of the planning and building control process, although the MOD is also developing plans for decarbonisation and renewables opportunities across our estate consistent with our Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach.

European Fighter Aircraft: Radar

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK's fleet of Tranche 2 Typhoon aircraft will receive the Radar 2 upgrade.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence (Baroness Goldie) to Question HL7852 answered on 15 September 2020 in the House of Lords.European Fighter Aircraft: Radar (docx, 17.8KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have had their claims suspended as a result of the time taken to be granted settled status.

David Rutley: We have been clear in our guidance to DWP Decision Makers that no claim should be suspended due to delays in resolving an application to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2022 to Question 102728 on Access to Work Programme, if she will publish further details of the stakeholders her Department is working with to inform the development of the Adjustments Passport.

Chloe Smith: Access to Work regularly engages with almost one hundred organisations supporting disabled people through stakeholder forums nationwide such as; Mencap, Disability Rights UK, Royal National Institute of Blind People, Scope, National Autistic Society, National Deaf Children’s Society and Leonard Cheshire Disability. To ensure the individual passports meet the needs of the user we have broadened our stakeholder network, and worked with other government departments, including the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence, and their stakeholders, to further strengthen the development of the Adjustment Passport. All of the passports being tested in the pilots follow the same format but the tone and language used has been tailored to meet the needs of the user. We continue to engage and welcome feedback from new stakeholders.

Social Security Benefits

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were claiming universal credit and legacy benefits as of 24 January 2022, broken down by nationality.

David Rutley: The nationality of claimants is not currently recorded on benefit payment systems. The Department for Work and Pensions does publish annual statistics on “Nationality at point of National Insurance Number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients” and the latest statistics are for November 2020 and available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/nationality-at-point-of-national-insurance-number-registration-of-dwp-working-age-benefit-recipients-data-to-november-2020Table 3 in the tables provides a benefit combination breakdown by nationality, however please note that the nationality for Non-UK nationals is recorded at the point of NINo registration and cannot be used as a proxy for current nationality or nationality at birt

Universal Credit: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the effect on universal credit claimants of the Welsh Government's NHS and Social care Financial Recognition payment being classed as salary.

David Rutley: Following the announcement of their intention to provide financial recognition for NHS and Social Care staff, we corresponded with the Welsh Government to explain that as the tax system treats such payments as earnings, it follows that DWP would treat them in the same way. There have been no further discussions. The £500 payments to health and social care workers you refer to are classed as earnings within the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, so are treated as earnings for the purposes of calculating entitlement to Universal Credit. To ensure consistency with the approach taken across different forms of earnings and Covid-19 financial support, the UK Government does not believe there is a case for disregarding these payments from benefit calculations. They are therefore subject to the Universal Credit taper rate of 55%, unless the earnings form part of the work allowance, which is the amount someone can earn before the taper is applied to their earnings.

Didcot Power Station

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will require the HSE to publish a preliminary report from its joint investigation with Thames Valley Police into the partial collapse at Didcot Power Station on 23 February 2016 to provide closure for the families of the four men who died in that collapse and guidance for the demolition industry.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will require the HSE to publish preliminary advice or guidance for the demolition industry based on its joint investigation with Thames Valley Police into the partial collapse at Didcot Power Station on 23 February 2016.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a timeframe for the remainder of the joint HSE and Thames Valley Police investigation into the partial collapse at Didcot Power Station on 23 February 2016.

Chloe Smith: As the lead investigatory body under the Work-Related Deaths Protocol, Thames Valley Police (TVP) have primacy over the investigation following the partial collapse at Didcot Power Station on 23 February 2016. They continue to investigate corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety offences jointly with Health and Safety Executive (HSE). TVP and HSE and remain committed to this challenging investigation. The dedicated team of investigators continue to work diligently to complete it and the results are clearly eagerly awaited by all involved, not least the families of those men who lost their lives. The size and complex nature of the investigation means it is impossible to provide any reliable timeline for completion. Preliminary reports are not provided as part of a criminal investigation. HSE to date has not needed to issue a safety alert in relation to the partial collapse at Didcot. When appropriate, HSE has and will continue to undertake proactive communications around demolition to inform and educate industry without explicitly mentioning the ongoing Didcot investigation.

Social Security Benefits: Broadband

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the context of the recent launch of the broadband voucher scheme for jobseekers, whether her Department has plans to expand that scheme for recipients of (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) other benefits.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the context of the recent launch of the broadband voucher scheme for jobseekers, what additional steps her Department is taking to provide connectivity to other digitally excluded groups that fall within her Department's remit.

Mims Davies: The cost of being connected online can be a barrier for low income households. DWP has worked with DCMS and Ofcom to influence broadband providers to support extending eligibility for new broadband social tariffs to low income households. As a result some broadband providers have made their new social tariffs available to all UC claimants and other means tested benefits. These social tariffs provide good speed, unlimited data and are available at a reduced price for those eligible. DWP is working with Ofcom to promote awareness of these social tariffs to our stakeholders and Work Coaches throughout our Jobcentre Plus network who can then signpost claimants to them. Where an out of work claimant of working age is engaging with a Work Coach to gain suitable employment the Work Coach can consider using the Flexible Support Fund to address the claimants barriers to employment. This includes providing devices and connections to get online. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches can provide support to working age out of work claimants who are not online by procuring devices, and connections including 6 months broadband connection in the home for eligible jobseekers through the Flexible Support Fund, where the Work Coach assess that this barrier is stopping the claimant progressing in their labour market journey. We continue to work with DCMS and Ofcom to influence the market to address barriers to digital exclusion.

Unemployed People: Broadband

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in have signed up to the joint broadband voucher scheme for jobseekers delivered by her Department and TalkTalk since its launch in (a) Motherwell and Wishaw constituency and (b) Scotland.

Mims Davies: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the effect on universal credit claimants of the Welsh Government's Winter Fuel Support Scheme Payment being classed as salary.

David Rutley: No such discussions have taken place. These payments are not treated as salary, but as capital, and are unlikely to affect entitlement to Universal Credit, as claimants need have capital in excess of £6,000 before the capital causes their Universal Credit to be reduced.

Employment

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the total number of people currently in paid work, including the self-employed, compared to before the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: There are different measures of people in work. The official measure, based on the Labour Force Survey, provides the broadest coverage of the self-employed. The latest available data, covering Sep-Nov ’21, is summarised in the table below.  Total  (aged 16+)EmployeesSelf-employedOther *Latest (Sep-Nov ’21)32.475 million28.128 million4.213 million135,000Change since Covid-19 (Dec-Feb ’20)-598,000+272,000-815,000-54,000 * ‘Other’ includes the categories of ‘unpaid family workers’ and those stating they are employed through ‘Government supported training & employment programmes’. Throughout the pandemic the UK Government has provided historic levels of support to the economy – a total of over £400 billion. This includes key DWP programmes such as Restart and Kickstart alongside other measures to boost work searches, skills and apprenticeships. Our support was in addition to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.We have launched 'Way to Work’, a concerted drive across the UK to help half a million people currently out of work into jobs in the next five months. We will be bringing employers into jobcentres and matching them up with claimants. This is good news for employers who need to fill vacancies and for our claimants.

New Enterprise Allowance

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have made starts on the New Enterprise Allowance; and of those how many started a business that they sustained for at least 26 weeks.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the people who made starts on the New Enterprise Allowance were (a) disabled, (b) aged 50 or over, (c) women and (d) from an ethnic minority background.

Mims Davies: The latest available statistics, detailing the period up to December 2020, were published in May 2021 and can be accessed here. Updated statistics are being prepared and we aim to publish these in March 2022.

Department for Work and Pensions: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Guy Opperman: The Department does not hold centrally the number of post legislative reviews; however, we do publish each review that we undertake. It would be at disproportionate cost for the Department to review and collate the information your require, however you can find details of individual reviews here: Gov.UK and Legislation.gov.uk.

Carers

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support (a) young carers and (b) carers who are retired and care for a spouse or close relative who is also retired.

Chloe Smith: DWP provides support for adult carers, including both younger and pensioner carers, through a range of social security benefits depending on their individual circumstances. Some benefits, including Universal Credit and Pension Credit, are designed to provide extra support for carers. Others living in the same household as the carer, including potentially the disabled person being cared for, may be receiving benefits in their own right, so would also be able to contribute to overall household finances. The Government is committed to making sure young carers are not left behind and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing. Support for carers is not just restricted to that from Central Government though. Under the Children’s and Families Act 2014, young carers are entitled to a young carers assessment from their Local Authority.

Department for Work and Pensions: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Guy Opperman: The Department does not hold centrally the number of post legislative reviews; however, we do publish each review that we undertake. It would be at disproportionate cost for the Department to review and collate the information you require, however you can find details of individual reviews here: Gov.UK and Legislation.gov.uk.

Carers: Energy

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is putting in place to support carers with the increases in heating and energy costs.

Chloe Smith: We value the key role that unpaid carers play in supporting disabled and elderly people. We support them through access to the full range of social security benefits depending on their circumstances. This Government is wholly committed to supporting people on lower incomes through a range of measures, including by spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22. We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, and we will continue to listen to people’s concerns as we have done throughout the pandemic. We’re providing support worth around £12bn this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living, cutting the Universal Credit taper to make sure work pays, freezing fuel duties to keep costs down, and providing targeted support to help households with their energy bills.We recognise that some people require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country can access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the Scottish government receiving £41 million, which they have used to create a Winter Support Fund to help people on low incomes this winter. Significant social security powers are devolved to the Scottish Government if they wish to use them. These include the power to top up reserved benefits, make discretionary payments or introduce new benefits in areas of devolved responsibility.

Food Poverty

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent households on lower incomes falling into food poverty as a result of recent rises in the price of basic foodstuff.

David Rutley: This Government is wholly committed to supporting low-income families, including through spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22 and by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022. We take the issue of food security seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20 and published the data in March last year. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, our focus now is on continuing to support people into and to progress in work. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. In addition, Universal Credit recipients in work are now benefitting from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, while eligible in-work claimants can also benefit from changes to the Work Allowance. These measures represent, for the lowest paid in society, an effective tax cut of around £2.2 Billion in 2022-23, and are now benefitting almost two million of the lowest paid workers by £1000 a year on average. We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country are now able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million. To support low income families further we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins, and we are also investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: British Nationals Abroad

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse has been of UK Government public awareness campaigns in Ukraine on support available to UK nationals living in Ukraine in each month since January 2021.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Keeping British citizens in Ukraine informed of our latest consular advice is a top priority given the volatility of the situation. Digital advertising is one of the many ways we communicate with UK nationals to ensure they have the latest consular information.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Marine Protected Areas

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions officials in her Department have had with the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration on publication of its most recent Marine Protected Area Management Plan.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration’s most recent Marine Protected Area Management Plan on the UK’s relations with Mauritius.

Amanda Milling: The BIOT Administration produced a draft Conservation Management Plan for BIOT's Marine Protected Area in 2019. There are no plans to publish the Plan.

Palestinians: Development Aid

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will place a copy of her Department’s Memorandums of Understanding with the Palestinian Authority for 2020/21 and 2021/22 in the House of Commons Library.

James Cleverly: In line with our transparency commitments, our 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 Memorandums of Understanding with the Palestinian Authority will be made available on DevTracker shortly.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Platinum Jubilee 2022

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans are in place to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Amanda Milling: The British Indian Ocean Territory Administration will be participating in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons.

Gaza: Israel

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on increased Hamas rocket fire towards Israel from Gaza; and if she will make a statement.

James Cleverly: Our position on Hamas is clear: we condemn Hamas' continued attacks against civilians which are unacceptable and unjustifiable. We continue to call upon Hamas and other terrorist groups to permanently end their incitement and indiscriminate rocket fire against Israel. Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she had with the US administration on Saudi Arabia’s combat actions in Yemen.

James Cleverly: UK Ministers and officials have regular dialogue with the US administration on Yemen, including during monthly briefings at the UN Security Council, to encourage progress towards a political solution to the conflict. On 26 January, I [Minister Cleverly] discussed the recent military escalation and our ongoing support for UN-led peace efforts with US Special Envoy Tim Lenderking.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of whether components from the Raytheon factory in Glenrothes formed part of the missile that hit a detention centre in Sa’adah, Yemen on 21 January 2022.

James Cleverly: We are looking into recent reports of impact of airstrikes on civilians in Yemen. We urge all parties to the Yemen conflict to exercise restraint and avoid further civilian impact and suffering. The Government takes its strategic export control responsibilities very seriously. The Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.  All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Yemen: Humanitarian Situation

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

James Cleverly: The humanitarian situation in Yemen remains dire, with deteriorating food security, an economic crisis and increased levels of displaced people. The UK is spending £87 million in aid in Yemen this financial year, which feeds around 240,000 of the most vulnerable Yemenis every month, supports 400 healthcare clinics and provides clean water for 1.6 million people. A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the humanitarian suffering.

Israel: Foreign Relations

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of further opportunities for UK-Israel collaboration following the signing of UK-Israel Strategic Partnership.

James Cleverly: The memorandum of understanding, signed on 29 November and accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-israel-strategic-partnership-memorandum-of-understanding-2021, commits to the development of a new, bespoke UK-Israel Bilateral Roadmap. This Roadmap will define UK-Israel cooperation for the next decade across the breadth of the bilateral relationship.

Maira Shahbaz

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to the Pakistani Government on the case of Maira Shahbaz.

James Cleverly: It is longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases, where to do so may put individuals or their family members in danger.The UK strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief, women and girls' rights and gender equality at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, including on individual cases. During his visit to Pakistan in June 2021, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Foreign Minister Qureshi, and Human Rights Minister Mazari. During these meetings, Lord Ahmad highlighted the need to address persecution, promote respect for all religions and increase tolerance for religious minorities. He also met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage of young girls. Most recently, Lord Ahmad discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November, and on January 6 with Shaikh Hasan Haseeb Ur Rehman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, and Pir Naqeeb, custodian of the Eidgah Sharif Shrine in Rawalpindi. In addition to diplomatic engagement, the FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages, gender-based violence and modern slavery.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that all remaining UK nationals in Afghanistan have access to food and water until they are evacuated.

James Cleverly: Since 28 August 2021 the British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations. FCDO Travel Advice for Afghanistan states that consular assistance can only be provided remotely and is extremely limited. We encourage all British nationals in Afghanistan to check Travel Advice and confirm their presence on the online registration system. British nationals in Afghanistan can continue to access 24 hour consular assistance by phone.Afghanistan is facing a serious and worsening humanitarian crisis. It is affecting well over half of the population, with 23 million facing acute food insecurity. This is now the world's most severe food security crisis. The UN has this week requested nearly $4.5 billion for 2022, the largest humanitarian appeal on record, reflecting the magnitude of the humanitarian challenge ahead.The UK remains fully committed to supporting Afghanistan and its people. We have already announced a doubling of our humanitarian aid and development assistance commitment to Afghanistan, to £286 million. We have now disbursed over £163 million which will support over 3.4 million people in Afghanistan and the region, providing emergency food, health, shelter, water and protection. We are working at pace to allocate the remaining funding in response to the crisis and the new UN Appeal.

Guinea: LGBT People

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the government of Guinea on the penalties in place in that country against LGBT people.

Vicky Ford: The UK stands with LGBT+ individuals globally to affirm our commitment to the principle of non-discrimination on all grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. We work through our Embassy in Conakry, as well as international organisations, to promote non-discrimination towards LGBT+ people in Guinea, and to address discriminatory laws. The UK encourages Guinea to oppose all forms of discrimination and uphold the obligations in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles of the African Charter.

Developing Countries: Education

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to advance progress towards the targets for (a) 40 million more girls to be in primary and secondary school in low and lower middle-income countries by 2026 and (b) 20 million more girls to be able to read in low and lower middle-income countries by age 10 by 2026 since those targets were endorsed by the G7 in June 2021.

Vicky Ford: We have built on the momentum of the G7 and UK-hosted Global Education Summit to push forward progress on girls' education. At COP26, we shone a spotlight on the links between education and climate and called for countries to prioritise early learning in their efforts to mitigate climate change. In Afghanistan, the UK has called for girls' right to secondary education to be restored, and UK humanitarian funds are helping provide safe spaces for learning for 38,000 displaced children, including 28,000 girls.As of mid-December, more than 647 million school children were still affected by partial or full school closures. Ministers are pressing national governments to reopen schools as a matter of priority, while our bilateral education programmes and flagship Girls' Education Challenge continue to support children to catch-up on the learning they have lost. On 26 January, the UK helped launch a new report by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel focused on recovering children's education.

Developing Countries: Education

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to advance the two global girls’ education targets since they were endorsed at the G7 in June 2021.

Vicky Ford: We have built on the momentum of the G7 and UK-hosted Global Education Summit to push forward progress on girls' education. At COP26, we shone a spotlight on the links between education and climate and called for countries to prioritise early learning in their efforts to mitigate climate change. In Afghanistan, the UK has called for girls' right to secondary education to be restored, and UK humanitarian funds are helping provide safe spaces for learning for 38,000 displaced children, including 28,000 girls.As of mid-December, more than 647 million school children were still affected by partial or full school closures. Ministers are pressing national governments to reopen schools as a matter of priority, while our bilateral education programmes and flagship Girls' Education Challenge continue to support children to catch-up on the learning they have lost. On 26 January, the UK helped launch a new report by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel focused on recovering children's education.

Developing Countries: Education

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Declaration on Girls' Education published on 5 May 2021, what steps she is taking to track progress towards the targets for (a) 40 million more girls to be in primary and secondary school in low and lower middle-income countries by 2026 and (b) 20 million more girls to be able to read in low and lower middle-income countries by age 10 or the end of primary school by 2026.

Vicky Ford: We have committed to publish an annual report tracking progress against the two new global objectives, in collaboration with UNESCO and the UN Girls' Education Initiative. The report is due to be published in the summer of 2022 and annually will highlight the progress that low- and middle-income countries have made in getting 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by the age of 10, as well as demonstrating the obstacles that are still to be overcome.

Developing Countries: Education

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what specific steps her Department has taken to advance the two global targets for girls’ education since those targets were endorsed at the G7 in June 2021.

Vicky Ford: We have built on the momentum of the G7 and UK-hosted Global Education Summit to push forward progress on girls' education. At COP26, we shone a spotlight on the links between education and climate and called for countries to prioritise early learning in their efforts to mitigate climate change. In Afghanistan, the UK has called for girls' right to secondary education to be restored, and UK humanitarian funds are helping provide safe spaces for learning for 38,000 displaced children, including 28,000 girls.As of mid-December, more than 647 million school children were still affected by partial or full school closures. Ministers are pressing national governments to reopen schools as a matter of priority, while our bilateral education programmes and flagship Girls' Education Challenge continue to support children to catch-up on the learning they have lost. On 26 January, the UK helped launch a new report by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel focused on recovering children's education.

Ahmadiyya: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief for Ahmadiyya Muslims.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.We remain deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses towards Ahmadi Muslims in different parts of the world. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations whether publicly or in private. On 22 and 23 June 2021 during a visit to Pakistan, The Minister of State responsible for human rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised the treatment of minorities, including Ahmadi Muslims, with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari. He also raised the use of cybercrime laws against members of the Ahmadi community with Advisor to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, Shahzad Akbar.In addition to meetings with the Government of Pakistan, Lord Ahmad met representatives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and took part in an interfaith roundtable to better understand the concerns of religious or belief minorities in Pakistan. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, has also been working closely with international actors and civil society to promote FoRB for all, including Ahmadi Muslims. On 12 April 2021, the Envoy met with representatives from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and reaffirmed the UK Government's ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB for all, including Ahmadi Muslims.

Freedom of Religion or Belief Summit

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to help ensure that the UK-hosted conference on freedom of religion or belief in July 2022 results in tangible outcomes.

Vicky Ford: The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in July 2022 will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally. Preparations for the conference are underway, including consultations with our international and domestic partners to consider a wide range of possible outcomes.

Religious Freedom: Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to help counter international digital persecution of religious minorities through online surveillance and intimidation.

Vicky Ford: Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. No one should be excluded because of their religion or belief. Discrimination damages not only societies, but it also holds back economies. Countries cannot fully develop while they oppress members of minorities.We are working closely with digital and social media platforms to help them identify and take action to mitigate the harmful spread of intimidation online. In addition, we actively support Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organisations in research to inform technology companies, partner governments and others about the misuse of online platforms.

Northern Ireland Protocol

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of the Northern Ireland Protocol on (a) British culture and (b) the status of the Union.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland has proved itself time and time again. But much of the progress we have seen in Northern Ireland rests upon the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, which secured peace and stability.The Northern Ireland Protocol was expressly intended to protect the UK's integrity and to respect and uphold the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. Its operation is currently presenting very significant challenges for people and businesses in Northern Ireland which is why we are in intensive discussions with the EU to find a way forward based on common-sense solutions.This Government is committed to protecting and promoting the combined strengths of our union, building on hundreds of years of partnership and shared history.

Estonia: Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to negotiate with the Germany on the release of Estonian arms to Ukraine.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Ukraine is one of the highest foreign policy priorities for the UK government and, as fellow NATO allies, we are in regular contact with both Estonia and Germany about providing assistance to Ukraine.

Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro's Independent review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO support for persecuted Christians.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.The Bishop of Truro's review provided recommendations for an enhanced Government response to support members of all faiths, beliefs, and those of no religious belief. We have achieved 16 of the recommendations, and are making good progress on the remaining six.

Tunisia: Politics and Government

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the Tunisian government to (a) help maintain (i) democracy, (ii) the rule of law and (iii) respect for human rights and  (b) tackle corruption in the context of recent political developments in that country.

James Cleverly: UK engagement with the Tunisian government covers a wide range of issues related to good governance under the framework of the bilateral Association Agreement which came into effect on 1 January 2021. The UK also engages on a range of good governance issues with political actors, civil society organisations and international organisations. I [Minister Cleverly] discussed recent political developments with Foreign Minister Jerandi on 11 August and 23 October, and was clear that the solution to Tunisia's challenges can only be achieved through the principles of democracy, transparency, human rights and free speech. The UK stands ready to play a supporting role.

Australia: Visits Abroad

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse was of the use of the Government Airbus A321 for her visit to Australia between 18 and 23 January 2022.

James Cleverly: In accordance with the Ministerial Code the FCDO publishes the costs related to an overseas visit made by the Foreign Secretary as part of the Quarterly Transparency Return https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/minister-data#2020.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central of 22 October 2021, 24 November 2021 and 8 December 2021.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when was the oldest outstanding claim for asylum submitted.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office cannot provide an answer on what date the oldest current outstanding asylum application was submitted to the Department because the Home Office does not publish this data as this is internal management information which is not verified to the standard for publication.However, the Home Office does publish information which shows the number of cases in the entire asylum system, including some information of case age. This data can be found in ASY_03 of the published Transparency data:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Ukraine: Passports

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of not recognising Russian-issued passports from the annexed Ukrainian territory.

Kevin Foster: The UK does not recognise the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia.The Immigration Rules state all persons travelling to the UK must produce on arrival a valid passport or other document satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality. This includes Russian citizens.We continue working with partners to monitor the situation and will keep our position on Russian documents under review.

Undocumented Migrants: Human Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps is her Department has taken to tackle illegal migrant trafficking.

Tom Pursglove: The Government stands resolute in its commitment to tackle Organised Immigration Crime (OIC). Migrants are easy victims for Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) who exploit desperation by offering services in exchange for money, labour, or sexual acts. In the closely related crimes of people smuggling and human trafficking, we bear down on the OCGs who facilitate illegal travel to the UK and who exploit vulnerable migrants, often treating them as commodities and knowingly putting people in life-threatening situations.Tackling people smuggling of all types is a priority for Immigration Enforcement, working through its international network upstream as well as conducting OIC investigations within the UK. Additionally, the dedicated multi-agency OIC Taskforce, led by the National Crime Agency, is committed to dismantling OCGs engaged in immigration crime internationally. The Taskforce is active in 17 countries worldwide, and its activities include supporting judicial and intelligence capacity building in source and transit countries, and intelligence sharing in key near Europe countries.The tragedy in the Channel last November demonstrates the high risk routes OCGs facilitate, endangering migrants’ lives at sea. In response to this increasing threat, the NCA, Home Office, Ministry of Defence and UK police forces have collaborated with French counterparts to tackle the criminals behind the majority of these crossing attempts and protect lives at sea. Our joint efforts are resulting in continued arrests and prosecutions of these criminals, so that we deter, disrupt and dismantle the networks responsible for facilitating many of these crossings.We also share information about criminality around small boats between agencies. This includes the Joint Intelligence Cell in France and the international networks of both the NCA and the Home Office. The Joint Intelligence Centre has since July 2020 taken down 17 small boat OCGs and secured over 400 arrests – taking the criminals behind these crossings off the streets. Our cooperation with the French has also prevented more than 23,000 migrant attempts.We have also provided continued funding of £2.66m this financial year to support the police to improve the response to modern slavery, build capability to deal with OIC and strengthen the criminal justice response through the Modern Slavery and OIC Unit.Additional to these ongoing activities, in recent months we have:Concluded a ministerially endorsed voluntary Action Plan between NCA and social media companies to enhance joint activity to tackle content advertising illegal OIC services on online platforms, including content relating to small boat crossings.Continued to pursue those involved in the financial flows that support people smuggling activity, using criminal powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to seek prosecution of money laundering offences. In March 2021, the Government published the New Plan for Immigration containing provisions to establish legislation to deter illegal entry into the UK, thereby breaking the business model of criminal people smuggling networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger. In July 2021, the Government introduced this legislation through the Nationality and Borders Bill.o Announced our review of the 2014 Modern Slavery Strategy to build on the progress we have made to date, adapt our approach to the evolving nature of these terrible crimes, and continue our leadership in tackling modern slavery.

Visas: Overseas Students

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of requiring Tier 5 visas for EU students in the UK on the ability of those students to (a) study and (b) work in the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange visa provides individuals with the opportunity to complete training, a work experience placement, English language course or conduct research for a period of up to two years. It is not a route focussing on study and does not replace the existing provisions under the student route.The new Student route was launched in October 2020. The Student route streamlines and simplifies the previous Tier 4 route, making it simpler for international students to apply to study in the UK, and significantly improves on our offer in the global marketplace.A full impact assessment for the Student route was published on 10 September 2020 and can be found on gov.uk at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-707-10-september-2020Under the Standard Visitor route visitors may study for up to 6 months, provided the course is provided by an accredited institution. Visitors may also learn about and undertake research as part of a course they are studying overseas, and if they are studying medicine, veterinary medicine and science, nursing or dentistry they can undertake electives relevant to their course.The Government is committed to ensuring the UK continues to be an attractive destination for individuals to study and work.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have been taken by each Local Authority under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme as of 27 January 2022.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release in February 2022 and will cover the period October-December 2021. These numbers are updated each quarter.This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the department, both through the quarterly national statistics and the additional transparency data that is released, which ensure that statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all. Statistics on the number of people resettled under the scheme in 2022 Q1 will be included in subsequent edition of Immigration Statistics.

Overseas Students: Nurses

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Migration Advisory Committee has undertaken an impact assessment of prioritising all student nurses and student dental nurses, including international students and those on work placements, for approval to work in the UK.

Kevin Foster: Individuals in the UK with general work rights, such as non-UK students, do not require specific permission to undertake employment provided they have been granted general permission to work.

Visas: Skilled Workers

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dental medical professionals have entered the UK via the Skilled Visa Route.

Kevin Foster: Home Office Migration Statistics do not specifically capture information on the professions of those entering the UK under the Skilled Worker visa route.Information on current Home Office migration statistics can be found at Migration statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Animal Experiments

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the breeding of beagles at MBR Acres, Cambridgeshire, is subject to the requirements of the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and whether a harm-benefit analysis process retrospective assessment of PPL has been carried out in connection to that matter.

Kit Malthouse: The breeding of animals which does not result in the generation of a genetically altered animal does not require a project licence under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).However, an establishment which breeds protected animals intended for use in regulated procedures does require an establishment licence. Thus MBR Acres does not need, and does not hold, a project licence for the breeding of dogs but holds an establishment licence under ASPA.

Fire and Rescue Services: Emergency Calls

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, w if he will publish a list of each regional call centre that handles emergency calls to fire services in England.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for answering an emergency call to the fire services (a) nationally and (b) by regional fire service emergency call centres on a (i) Friday night and (ii) Saturday night in each of the last 5 years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff have been employed to answer emergency calls to fire services (a) nationally (b) at each regional hub in each of the last 5 years; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: The Department collects and publishes data on the number of control centre staff by FRS. In 2021, the total number of staff employed in call centres was 1169. Further detail is available on the website.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1026813/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire1101-211021.xlsxThe Department does not collect data relating to average waiting times for calls to the fire and rescue services. However, the Department does collect and publish call handling times, or ‘response times’. This is available at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1032104/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire1001-111121.xlsxThe fire and rescue services do not have regional control centres. There are, 32 control rooms in England. However, some FRSs share control rooms; others have their own.

Animal Experiments

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the harm-benefit analysis process for retrospective assessments of PPLs required by the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 record deaths of animals; and whether that data is routinely published.

Kit Malthouse: All project licence (PPLs) applications are subject to the harm–benefit analysis (HBA) process required under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This process is undertaken by the Home Office Animals in Science Regulation Unit to ensure that any harm that may be caused to the animals is justified by the expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment and evaluates whether a project licence application can be legally authorised.The retrospective assessment process which applies to a subsection of project licences does not include a harm-benefit analysis.A project licence retrospective assessment does not routinely record the deaths of animals.

Dyson: Slavery

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with Dyson on the prevention and remediation of modern slavery in their supply chains.

Rachel Maclean: The Home Office has not engaged in discussions with Dyson on the prevention and remediation of modern slavery in their supply chains.Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses operating in the UK with a turnover of £36m or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The landmark ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ provisions in the Modern Slavery Act are helping to change business culture, spotlighting modern slavery risks on boardroom agendas and within the international human rights community.The prevalence of modern slavery and complexity of global supply chains means that it is highly unlikely that any sector or company is immune from the risks of modern slavery. The Home Office’s statutory guidance on producing modern slavery statements recommends that statements should include the risk assessment and due diligence organisations undertook to prevent and tackle modern slavery. The statutory guidance also includes information on how companies should respond to an incidence of suspected modern slavery by taking a tailored approach that would produce the safest outcome for potential victims. We recognise, however, there is more to do to keep businesses focused on this important issue.The Government is currently reviewing its Modern Slavery Strategy and will consider whether there are further opportunities to enhance our approach to transparency in supply chains.

Home Office: Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had any (a) financial contract and (b) meetings with (i) Clifford Chance LLP, (ii) FTI Consulting and (iii) Fenchurch Advisory Partners in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office does not hold any financial contracts nor has it had meetings with the companies mentioned within the last five years.

Hamas: Fundraising

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle Hamas’s fundraising activities in the UK since 31 January 2020.

Damian Hinds: Hamas’ proscription was extended to cover the organisation in its entirety in November 2021. The extension means that all of Hamas’ assets are considered terrorist property and therefore liable to seizure, complementing the asset freeze covering all of Hamas under the Counter-Terrorism (International Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The asset freeze prevents funds, economic resources or financial services from being made available to, or used by, Hamas.The investigation and prosecution of proscription and terrorist financing offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service. It would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on this matter further.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to Afghan citizens associated with minority-faith based humanitarian and development organisations wishing to resettle in the UK.

Victoria Atkins: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme commenced on 6 January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBT+).Details of how the ACRS will operate including the referral pathways for those outside and inside Afghanistan are set in the oral statement of 6 January can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-the-afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Luton Airport: Planning Permission

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 90949 on Luton Airport: Planning Permission and with reference to his issuing of an Article 31 Direction, if he will commission a sustainability report from the Civil Aviation Authority on (a) carbon emissions, (b) air and (c) noise pollution, in order to inform his decision on whether to call in planning application reference 21/00031/VARCON for determination.

Christopher Pincher: The application is currently being considered against call-in policy, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012*.The question of call-in does not relate to determining the merits of the scheme, but rather whether it raises issues of more than local importance. Policy is to be very selective about calling in planning applications.*https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121026/wmstext/121026m0001.htm#12102628000003

Housing: Construction

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 103540 on Housing: Construction, if he will provide further basis to the statement that lower household projections do not mean fewer homes need to be built.

Christopher Pincher: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been clear lower household projections do not mean fewer homes are needed – in some cases they reflect existing under-supply, where lack of provision stops new households from forming. The ONS has also been clear that household projections are not forecasts; they do not attempt to predict the impact of future public policy, changing economic circumstances or other factors that may influence household growth.The 2014-based household projections are used within the standard method to provide stability for planning authorities and communities, to ensure that historic under-supply and declining affordability are ultimately reflected in housing requirements, and to support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes.

Levelling Up Fund

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the second round of the Levelling Up Fund will (a) open and (b) close for applications.

Neil O'Brien: The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport and investing in cultural and heritage assets. We will open round 2 in Spring 2022 and will share further details in due course.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the finding in the report by the National Audit Office, entitled Regulation of private renting, published on 10 December 2021, that an estimated 23 per cent of privately rented homes are classified as non-decent, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce that proportion.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the finding in the report by the National Audit Office, entitled Regulation of private renting, published on 10 December 2021, that an estimated 13 per cent of privately rented homes contain serious health hazards, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce that proportion.

Eddie Hughes: Latest figures from the English Housing Survey show 12% of privately rented homes contain a category 1 hazard, half the number from 10 years ago, and 21% are non-decent down from 37% in 10 years ago. This is a great improvement but there is more work to be done.We are committed to tackling the worst issues in the private rented sector – driving up standards, giving tenants greater security and supporting local authorities to crack down on poor practice.We have strengthened local authorities’ enforcement powers, introducing financial penalties of up to £30,000, extending rent repayment orders and introducing banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders.We will bring forward a White Paper later this year to set out a strategic vision for the Private Rented Sector. This will outline how our reforms will deliver a fairer, higher quality and more secure rental market.

Energy Performance Certificates

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many complaints his Department has received relating to each of the five domestic energy assessor accreditation schemes in each of the last five financial years.

Eddie Hughes: The energy assessor accreditation schemes are required to have complaints systems in place to deal with complaints about individual energy assessments. The Department occasionally receives complaints about how schemes have handled complaints made to them but does not hold a record of the numbers of these.

Energy Performance Certificates: Fraud

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the risks of energy assessors carrying out fraudulent assessments of domestic properties in order for those properties to comply with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.

Eddie Hughes: The Department recognises that there is a risk of fraudulent assessments for energy performance certificates. Accreditation Schemes are required to have Fraud Identification Plans that include informing the appropriate authorities if fraud is suspected. The EPC Action Plan sets out the Government’s intention to consider wider issues about the oversight and accountability of the EPC system including to deal with fraud issues in a more comprehensive way.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Eddie Hughes: The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Eddie Hughes: The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years is not held within the Department.

Local Government Finance: Liverpool

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction of local government funding over the last 10 years on the provision of services and facilities by Liverpool City Council.

Eddie Hughes: The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.The Government is providing around £1.6 billion additional grant in 2022-23. This includes additional funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience, which will be distributed outside of this Settlement. We are allocating most of that funding through the provisional Settlement, including through a one-off 2022-23 Services Grant, which gives local authorities an additional £822 million of funding for all services. Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23.For Liverpool City Council, this represents an increase in cash terms of up to 7.4% compared to last year, worth £36.8 million. This is above the average cash increase across England of 6.9%.

Local Government Finance: Sefton

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction of local government funding over the last 10 years on the provision of services and facilities by Sefton Council.

Eddie Hughes: The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.The Government is providing around £1.6 billion additional grant in 2022-23. This includes additional funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience, which will be distributed outside of this Settlement. We are allocating most of that funding through the provisional Settlement, including through a one-off 2022-23 Services Grant, which gives local authorities an additional £822 million of funding for all services. Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23.For Sefton Council, this represents an increase in cash terms of up to 7.1% compared to last year, worth £17.8 million. This is above the average cash increase across England of 6.9%.

Local Government Finance: St Helens

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction of local government funding over the last 10 years on the provision of services and facilities by St Helens Council.

Eddie Hughes: The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.The Government is providing around £1.6 billion additional grant in 2022-23. This includes additional funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience, which will be distributed outside of this Settlement. We are allocating most of that funding through the provisional Settlement, including through a one-off 2022-23 Services Grant, which gives local authorities an additional £822 million of funding for all services. Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23.For St Helens Council, this represents an increase in cash terms of up to 7.8% compared to last year, worth £12.5 million. This is above the average cash increase across England of 6.9%.

Local Government Finance: Knowsley

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction of local government funding over the last 10 years on the provision of services and facilities by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Eddie Hughes: The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.The Government is providing around £1.6 billion additional grant in 2022-23. This includes additional funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience, which will be distributed outside of this Settlement. We are allocating most of that funding through the provisional Settlement, including through a one-off 2022-23 Services Grant, which gives local authorities an additional £822 million of funding for all services. Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23.For Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, this represents an increase in cash terms of up to 7.8% compared to last year, worth £13.3 million. This is above the average cash increase across England of 6.9%.

Electoral Register

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the delay between the submission of electoral registration applications or updates and the updating of those details on the electoral register.

Eddie Hughes: There is a five working day objection period in which objections to new applications to the electoral register can be made and considered, in order to prevent electoral fraud. The Government is clear that tackling electoral fraud is a high priority, as it secures the protection of our democracy.The current process is a tried and tested method which Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are familiar with, and there are no current plans to change it. This schedule gives the EROs the opportunity to make the relevant changes in good time, whilst actively ensuring the prevention of fraud and sustaining the completeness and accuracy of the register.

Local Government

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help councils deliver on local priorities.

Eddie Hughes: Councils know their own areas best and have a wide discretion to determine their own local priorities.The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.  The Government is providing around £1.6 billion additional grant in 2022-23. This includes additional funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience, which will be distributed outside of this Settlement. We are allocating most of that funding through the provisional Settlement, including through a one-off 2022-23 Services Grant, which gives local authorities an additional £822 million of funding for all services. Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23.

Public Lavatories

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of provision of public toilets in England; and what plans his Department has to help ensure there is an adequate provision of public toilets across the country.

Eddie Hughes: Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about public toilet provision in their localities. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver local services.

Holiday Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the proportion of newly constructed apartments buildings in England being used for the sole purpose of (a) airbnb) or (b) other short term holiday lets.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to prevent the development of public land for the sole or partial purpose of creating housing for use on (a) airbnb or (b) other short term holiday lets.

Christopher Pincher: Data on whether new build developments are used for the sole purpose of Airbnb or other short term holiday lets are not centrally collected.On Public Sector Land, public bodies should generally dispose of surplus land (including property assets built on that land) at the best possible price reasonably obtainable. It is for individual departments to determine the most appropriate route to disposal. It is for local authorities to determine the most suitable use of land on each site in line with the National Planning Policy Framework and local planning policy.As a general principle, the Government recognises the benefits that second homes and holiday lets can bring to local economies and to the tourism sector and does not wish to interfere with people’s freedom to live where they choose. However, the Government also recognises the adverse effect that large numbers of second homes and holiday lets can have on some areas.In July 2021, the Government published a Tourism Recovery Plan. As part of the plan, the Government will consult on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England. A Registration Scheme is one potential route through which to create a data-driven approach, creating an improved national picture of the precise shape of the accommodation landscape which could feed into a wider Data Hub.Any such scheme could encompass the breadth of the sector, from ‘traditional’ accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs, to short term lets in the sharing economy and could be used to underpin future government interventions, for example regarding the regulation of the sharing economy. The rise of the sharing economy has and will continue to play an important role in attracting tourists to destinations across the country and contributing to the UK economy.However, it has created concerns about uneven regulatory requirements and negative impacts on local communities compared to other types of accommodation. The Government is committed to hearing the views of all interested parties on the merits and drawbacks of a Registration Scheme, and how any potential scheme could be implemented proportionately to avoid placing a significant regulatory burden on the sector.The Government will launch a consultation later in 2022, but will begin the process by launching a call for evidence in the coming weeks. The call for evidence will seek views on a range of issues that arise from the increase in short-term holiday letting, not just on housing supply but also on matters such as compliance with health and safety regulations and the impact on anti-social behaviour.The consultation will enable the Government to put forward proportionate policy options based on a firm evidence base.

Planning Permission

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the steps required to protect effectively sites of Jewish heritage in the planning system.

Christopher Pincher: The Government and its heritage adviser, Historic England, help to protect Jewish sites within the planning system through:advising the Secretary of State for DCMS on Listing and Scheduling;statutory advice in relation to planning applications that may have an impact on the setting and character of listed synagogues, mikvah or other premises, and;engagement with Jewish communities seeking to make changes to their built heritage or manage it more effectively.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Alister Jack: This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade. In 2018, the Scotland Office completed post legislative scrutiny of the Scotland Act 2012. A link to the review can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/703084/Post_Legislative_Scrutiny_SA_2012_PDF.pdf The Scotland Office has not completed any post legislative scrutiny of secondary legislation.

Attorney General

National Scrutiny Panel on Disability Hate Crime

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2022 to Question 102715 on Disability: Crimes of Violence, if she will publish further details of the membership of the National Scrutiny Panel on Disability Hate Crime.

Alex Chalk: A National Scrutiny Panel on Disability Hate Crime was convened by the CPS in March 2021, consisting of community stakeholders, academics and police. The Panel focused on in-depth scrutiny of the handling of disability hate crime cases. As a result, the CPS will this month circulate a bulletin to all prosecutors. This will highlight key findings, lessons and top tips arising from the review. In addition, operational guidance has been refreshed and will be launched this month. It will provide prosecutors with an updated appreciation of how disability hate crime occurs, based on the lived experience of disabled people.

Sentencing: Appeals

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, when her Department plans to update the register of the outcome of cases reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme with her decisions in relation to the cases listed under unique reference numbers 672, 785, 803 and 811.

Alex Chalk: The decisions on these cases will be published in the next round of updates.

Cabinet Office

10 Downing Street

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials at each civil service grade worked on the Second Permanent Secretary's investigation into events in Downing Street and other government buildings.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Office report from the Second Permanent Secretary which has been published on GOV.UK and placed in the Library of the House. The Government does not comment on internal resourcing matters.

10 Downing Street

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the public purse funded any of the party refreshments consumed within No.10 Downing Street on 20 May 2021.

Michael Ellis: The report undertaken by the Second Permanent Secretary - available in the Library of the House - did not identify any allegations relating to staff gatherings on this date. For the avoidance of doubt, there was no such expenditure on 20 May 2020 either.

Supply Chain Advisory Group

Jim McMahon: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the outcomes have been of the work undertaken by Sir Dave Lewis as the Prime Minister's Supply Chains Advisor; what the cost was to the public purse of that work.

Jim McMahon: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the value for money of the work conducted by Sir Dave Lewis as the Prime Minister's Supply Chains Advisor

Michael Ellis: During his time as the Prime Minister's Supply Chains Advisor, Sir Dave Lewis worked across Government and with industry to help resolve a number of acute, short term issues. Sir Dave Lewis advised the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on immediate improvements and potential long term changes to UK supply chains. Work on supply chains continues to be a focus for the Government. Sir Dave Lewis’ role was unpaid.

Veterans: Leicestershire

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that the views of veterans in (a) Leicestershire and (b) Bosworth are taken into account in the (a) execution of the Veterans Action Plan and (b) work of the Veterans Commissioner for England.

Leo Docherty: Understanding our veteran community is one of the three key areas of action set out in the 2022-2024 Veterans Strategy Action Plan. The plan contains a range of commitments aiming to improve our insights on veterans’ needs and experiences to inform how we deliver the Strategy for our Veterans. As well as commitments including continued engagement with Local Authorities and analysis of data collected during the 2021 Census in England and Wales, I will introduce a Veterans Survey. The Survey will provide an opportunity for veterans, including those in Leicestershire and Bosworth, to give us their views and inform policy delivery and development. The Independent Veterans Advisor will continue to draw on his extensive network, across the entirety of the UK, to shape delivery of the Strategy.

Armed Forces: LGBT People

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure the removal of wrongful dismissal from employment records for LGBT people who have been dismissed from the armed forces.

Leo Docherty: As part of the new Veterans' Strategy Action Plan 2022-24, the Defence Secretary and I announced that we will commission an Independent Review into the impact of the pre-2000- ban on homosexual personnel in the Armed Forces. The Government will consider any further action in response to that Independent Review.

Department for International Trade

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the the Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 100568 on Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, how her Department defines the threshold for minimal impact.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Beef: Australia

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Government’s prediction that Australian imports of beef will primarily displace EU imports as a result of the new free trade agreement, whether her Department has assessed the resultant impact on transport-related carbon emissions.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Government’s assessment that Australian imports of beef will primarily displace EU imports as a result of the new free trade agreement, if she will publish results of research undertaken to assess the resultant impact on transport-related carbon emissions.

Penny Mordaunt: This is publicly available information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-australia-fta-impact-assessment.

Department for International Trade: Public Appointments

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department seeks references for candidates appointed to public positions which fall under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department is committed to ensuring that all appointments under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, are conducted in accordance with Governance Code on Public Appointments. As part of the recruitment process, references are taken up for all final candidates.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many arms export licences have been granted by the Government for exports to Saudi Arabia in the last five years.

Penny Mordaunt: HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations on GOV.UK containing detailed information including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This information is available at: gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data and the most recent publication was on 12th October 2021, covering the period 1st April – 30th June 2021. Information covering 1st July – 30th September 2021 will be published on 11th February 2022 and information covering 1st October 2020 – 31st December 2020 will be published in April 2022.

Supply Chains: China

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS449, on Trade Policy Update, what recent assessment she has made of the need for businesses to conduct due diligence on supply chains in China to stop exported items being used in internal repression or serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Penny Mordaunt: The Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS449, sets out the assessment criteria to be applied to licence applications for exports of controlled goods. It announced HM Government’s intention to legislate to expand the scope of control over goods intended for use by the military, police and security forces in an embargoed destination and to add China to the list of embargoed destinations. HM Government supports the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the international framework which sets out steps to guide businesses on voluntary human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for impacts on human rights.

Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS449 on Trade policy update, for what reason her Department introduce changes to the export control regime.

Penny Mordaunt: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade set out the reasons for introducing changes to the export control regime in her Written Statement, UIN HCWS449.

Arms Trade: Human Rights

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2022 to Question 100567 on Arms Trade: Human Rights, if she will list the non-Governmental organisations who officials in her Department met on 18 January 2022 to discuss the revised criteria.

Penny Mordaunt: The non-Governmental organisations officials met on 18 January were:Safer WorldOxfamShadow World InvestigationsAmnestyAction on Armed Violence

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the exemption of (a) least developed countries from TRIPS Agreement obligations and (b) all low and middle-income countries to not enforce TRIPS during the covid-19 pandemic to enable collaboration and help scale-up access to vaccines, tests and treatments; and if she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK supported the Least Developed Countries’ request for an extension of the transition period for compliance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in June 2021. While HM Government remains open to initiatives that will help with vaccine production and distribution, there is no evidence that waiving intellectual property protections would advance these objectives. We must focus on actions that will make a real difference. This includes delivering and administering vaccines globally, as well as ensuring the WTO’s pandemic response package incorporates ambitious trade measures to help vital supplies reach those who need them most.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect of a TRIPs waiver on innovation taking into account the contribution of public funding to the development of the Oxford/Astrazeneca and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines; and if she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: HM Government has invested 90 million pounds into AstraZeneca’s vaccine development. Investment like this has resulted in 2.5 billion AstraZeneca vaccines being delivered at cost to more than 170 countries, with two thirds going to lower- and middle-income countries. It is because of the legal framework provided by TRIPS that Government and innovators will continue to have the confidence to invest in developing health products and technologies. We must ensure the framework retains its ability to continue doing this. An IP rights waiver would undermine these efforts.

Africa Investment Conference: Costs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) organising and (b) hosting the second Africa Investment Conference.

Penny Mordaunt: The cost of the second Africa Investment Conference amounted to £74,450.50. This covered the cost of the event management company required to produce the conference, and the cost of the virtual platform required to host it. This has been paid for from the Department for International Trade’s Africa budget. With a distinguished line up of over 25 speakers, an audience of over 3,000 and a confident message from the UK’s Africa Investors Group on investing in Africa, the conference represents exceptional value for money and demonstrates why we will look to continue to employ virtual formats in our event toolkit from hereon in.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government has taken in line with its support for voluntary licences to encourage (a) Pfizer and (b) Moderna to share their covid-19 vaccine technology with potential mRNA manufacturers across Africa, Latin America and Asia identified by MSF and Human Rights Watch; and if she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The role of the legal framework provided by the TRIPS Agreement has and will continue to provide innovators the confidence to invest in developing health products and technologies and to form collaborative partnerships. This is evidenced with over 300 successful voluntary licensing and technology transfer partnerships, which are contributing to the production of approximately 1.5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses per month. We encourage industry to continue forming voluntary licensing and technology transfer partnerships. Working with commercial partners within the existing international IP framework is the most effective way to make use of global capacity to produce life-saving medicines at pace.

Trade Promotion: Food

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2022 to Question 100400, on Trade Promotion: Food, how many of the more than 100 overseas staff in her Department are assigned specifically to promote food and drink exports; and how many UK based staff in her Department are assigned specifically to promote food and drink exports; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Freer: Food and drink exporters are supported by the full breadth of DIT’s trade policy work and export services, as well as officials based across the UK who provide specialist support to businesses in the agriculture, food and drink sector. The specific number of officials will continually evolve, in response to the demands from different parts of the industry and in different overseas markets. The 100 staff overseas, either on a full or part time basis, who are specifically supporting businesses in the agriculture, food, and drink sector, are part of DIT’s wider presence overseas and will be joined by eight new additional specialist agriculture attachés.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Olympic Games: China

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of China hosting the Winter Olympic Games on the reputation of that event.

Nigel Huddleston: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is wholly responsible for the election process of the host nation of future Olympic and Paralympic Games. The host city is elected by a majority of the votes cast by secret ballot, with each active member of the IOC having one vote.

Gambling: Video Games

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to publish the response to its 2020 consultation on loot boxes in video games.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will classify loot boxes as a form of gambling in the upcoming review of the Gambling Act 2005.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to (a) assess whether loot boxes are harmful to children and (b) gather further data in this area.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the total value of microtransactions from loot boxes in video games in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the value of loot box grey markets where players can trade items between accounts.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of whether players can sell items won in video game loot boxes for real-world money.

Julia Lopez: The Government undertook a call for evidence from September to November 2020 to examine concerns around loot boxes in video games. We are continuing to evaluate the evidence from more than 30,000 responses that we received, along with an independent Rapid Evidence Assessment commissioned from the InGAME research and innovation centre. Additionally, we have continued a dialogue with the games industry to address issues identified from the evidence.We will publish the response to the call for evidence in the coming months. As part of this, we will set out findings from the call for evidence and outline next steps to take action where needed.The Gambling Act Review is ongoing and we will publish our conclusions through a White Paper in the coming months.

Independent Press Standards Organisation

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Independent Press Standards Organisation in delivering just outcomes.

Julia Lopez: Since the report of the Leveson Inquiry was published in 2012, we have seen a fundamental reform of the self-regulatory landscape for the press, including the establishment of two new regulators, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS). The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. A small number of publishers have joined IMPRESS.IPSO has established strong regulatory standards and codes for its members, and offers individuals a means of redress where these standards are not met.The Government is committed to protecting the freedom of the press and recognises that a vibrant and free press plays an invaluable role in our cultural and democratic life.

Members: Correspondence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury dated 8 October 2021 regarding her Department's consultation on proposed changes to the UK’s data regulation regime.

Julia Lopez: A reply was issued on 28 January 2022.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.

Victoria Prentis: Information on the number of pieces of primary and secondary legislation that have gone through post-legislative scrutiny by the department in the last five years is not held by a central team in Defra. It would therefore incur disproportionate costs to obtain this information in full. We do have some information that we are able to provide on the last five years which we have detailed here. This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade. These post-implementation reviews have been made publicly available and links are included below. Number of post-implementation reviews undertaken for primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years: YearPrimary LegislationSecondary legislation202103202004201913201801201701 Links to publications by year publicly available on legislation.gov.uk: YearLink to PublicationType of Legislation2021The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2021The Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)SecondaryYearLink to PublicationType of Legislation2021The Energy Information Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Food Information Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Primary2019The Tuberculosis (Deer and Camelid) (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Products Containing Meat etc. (England) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2018The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2017The Tuberculosis (England) (Amendment) Order 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary

Food: Labelling

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing environmental impact labelling for food products and its potential impact on (a) consumer awareness and choice and (b) meeting the UK’s carbon emissions targets.

Victoria Prentis: We want to empower consumers with more effective information to help them make healthier, greener, and more sustainable choices in their diet. As part of the Government’s Food Strategy, we are reviewing how food information can be improved - such as through labelling – so consumers can make more informed decisions whilst maintaining freedom of choice. Currently, the specific impact of environmental labelling on purchasing behaviour in real world settings is under-researched. Defra have commissioned consumer insights work in order to strengthen the evidence base, to better understand the efficacy of eco-labelling upon consumer choice selection. This will also assist in understanding whether environmental labelling leads to more sustainable supply chains, in alignment with reducing the UK’s emissions targets. The Government supports the work of WRAP, whose Courtauld 2030 voluntary agreement includes a target to reduce GHG emissions across the food supply chain. Courtauld's work includes agreeing a common set of emission factors, developing a standard for reporting on supply chain emissions in the food chain and reviewing the pathway to more robust emissions data governance. Although not explicitly linked to eco-labelling, this work aims to improve the data that would be required to underpin such a scheme.

Neonicotinoids: Regulation

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential merits of (a) a permanent ban on the use of neonicotinoids and (b) incentivising the use of (i) alternative and (ii) less harmful pesticides to protect biodiversity in the UK.

Victoria Prentis: The UK Government continues to support the existing restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids. We will consider emergency authorisations for limited and controlled use in special circumstances where diseases, pests or weeds cannot be controlled by any other reasonable means. The sugar beet industry has requested emergency use of Cruiser SB to protect the crop from severe yield losses while they develop alternative approaches (including resistant crops and husbandry measures).  The applicant anticipates that applications for emergency authorisations for neonicotinoid seed treatments may be needed next year, after which they aim to use those alternative approaches. In 2021 the Government consulted on the draft National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides which sets out the ambition to further minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. The draft NAP aims to increase uptake of Integrated Pest Management and sustainable crop protection. Integrated Pest Management emphasises crop health with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms, therefore playing a critical role in supporting and enhancing biodiversity, whilst improving soil heath and water quality.

Food

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote locally sourced produce in (a) supermarkets and (b) high street shops.

Victoria Prentis: What we eat and drink, and how and where it is made, is part of our nation’s story. It provides employment opportunities, contributes to local economies, shapes the landscapes we all value and engenders local pride and identity, right across the UK. As a Government, we have a Manifesto commitment that we want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British. We can all celebrate and support our exceptional British food and drink products by choosing to buy local, seasonal and sustainable produce from local shops and high streets. I am acutely aware of the critical role supermarkets and high street shops play in our food supply chain; both as the direct links to the consumer, and also because of their ability to influence the rest of the food chain. However, we also need to recognise that supermarkets and other retailers are privately owned, and sourcing decisions are a commercial matter. We welcome efforts from all parts of the food chain to promote and source local, British products, and I know that many supermarkets are already taking steps to do so. For example, a growing number of major retailers are now launching initiatives to provide practical support to high potential small food and drink businesses here in the UK. We are engaging with retailers to identify opportunities to further strengthen their offer on locally sourced food. This includes ensuring a simple and accessible process for local producers to get their products stocked, greater visibility of the local offer in store and on e-shopping platforms and strong representation of local produce across a broader range of product categories.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legislation

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.

Victoria Prentis: Information on the number of pieces of primary and secondary legislation that have gone through post-legislative scrutiny by the department in the last ten years is not held by a central team in Defra. It would therefore incur disproportionate costs to obtain this information in full. We do have some information that we are able to provide on the last five years which we have detailed here. We are unable to provide information older than five years without incurring disproportionate costs as this information is not held within the department. The information provided here is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade. These post-implementation reviews have been made publicly available and links are included below. Number of post-implementation reviews undertaken for primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years: YearPrimary LegislationSecondary legislation202103202004201913201801201701  Links to publications by year publicly available on legislation.gov.uk: YearLink to PublicationType of Legislation2021The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)SecondaryYearLink to PublicationType of Legislation2021The Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2021The Energy Information Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2020The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Food Information Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Primary2019The Tuberculosis (Deer and Camelid) (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2019The Products Containing Meat etc. (England) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2018The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary2017The Tuberculosis (England) (Amendment) Order 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)Secondary

Bees: Conservation

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of bee bricks installed in new buildings on supporting bee populations.

Rebecca Pow: While no formal assessment of the effectiveness of bee bricks has been undertaken, the Government works with public, private and voluntary sector partners to develop advice for everyone wishing to provide and manage nesting and feeding resources for bees and other insects, whether in gardens, the wider countryside or new buildings.This advice is based on clear evidence that by increasing habitat for insects, including bees, we support long-term population increases in those insects.Defra and Natural England are also working with other partners and stakeholders to develop a Green Infrastructure Framework. This will provide guidance as to what good green infrastructure looks like and help local authorities, developers and communities to improve provision in their area, including introducing nature friendly features into new developments.In addition, all public bodies, including local authorities, have a legal duty under the 2006 Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act to have regard to conserving biodiversity when exercising their functions, a duty which the Environment Act 2021 strengthens. Some local authorities may choose to introduce a planning requirement that requires suitable new buildings to include bee bricks, or they may focus on other measures, such as creating pollinator friendly wildflower habitats.

Forests: Conservation

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of his Department’s £30 million Big Nature Impact Fund will be allocated to protecting and restoring Britain’s temperate rainforests.

Rebecca Pow: We are working to design a new Big Nature Impact Fund, which aims to develop environmental markets by investing in projects capable of generating revenue from ecosystem services.The Fund should focus investments on the creation or restoration of carbon-rich biodiverse habitats, primarily native woodlands and restored peatlands. This could also fund projects which support and expand England's temperate rainforests. This was set out in our procurement document:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1b46e6f5-c2ec-4d9b-8504-b77c4eb3f112

Environment Agency: Finance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to secure funding to help enable the Environment Agency to investigate low impact category 3 and 4 pollution incidents.

Rebecca Pow: Defra and its agencies received an additional £4.3 billion in the latest Spending Review in October 2021.The Environment Agency (EA) receives over 100,000 incident reports a year, every one of which is recorded and assessed. The Environment Agency then focuses its efforts and resources on where they will have the most impact - so those which pose the greatest risk to the environment.The Environment Agency's Incident Triage Project is looking at how the EA can best use its resources and maximise benefits for the environment. While it continues to attend the most serious incidents, the EA will concentrate its efforts on regulatory activities which prevent incidents from happening in the first place. Intelligence from incident reporting helps the Environment Agency plan and prioritise work to protect the environment.

Fly-tipping: Fines

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will increase fines for fly-tipping in order to provide a deterrent in response to reports that the majority of fines given to offenders caught fly-tipping are lower than the cost of hiring a skip; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Fly-tipping is a menace – which is why we have been taking significant action to stamp it out. Our proposals on electronic waste tracking will replace outdated paper forms with a robust online system. Our proposed reforms to licencing for waste carriers and brokers will allow us to clamp down hard on rogue waste operations, and make it easier than ever to detect unlicensed operators. These build on enhanced enforcement powers in last year’s Environment Act, and on £350,000 of Defra grant funding for local council projects to tackle areas of persistent fly-tipping.In 2016 we legislated to introduce a fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping of up to £400 – but, for more serious offences, prosecution allows for an unlimited fine and up to five years imprisonment. While sentencing is a matter for courts, we are working with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to produce a guide on how councils and others can present robust prosecutions which should support tougher sentences. We intend to publish this in the spring.

Chemicals: Regulation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2022, to Questions 98425, 98519 and 98420, if he will publish (a) the evidence base underpinning the reasons given by his Department for introducing new principles for the inclusion of Substances of Very High Concern on the UK REACH Candidate List and (b) assessments made by his Department on the effect of those proposals on the protection of (i) human health and (ii) the natural environment; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s change of approach to including Substances of Very High Concern on the UK REACH Candidate List, how long will the new interim principles be in place; and if he will conduct a full public consultation and impact assessment on any proposal to make those interim principles permanent.

Jo Churchill: I refer the hon. Member to the corrected answer to PQs 98425, 98519 and 98520. The purpose of the interim approach we published is to clarify the circumstances when we will nominate substances to be added to the Candidate List in UK REACH. The formal process for adding substances to the Candidate List once nominated has not changed and was carried over from the EU. We will keep our interim approach under review taking account of both our experience of operating UK REACH and feedback from stakeholders as it develops.

Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a technical definition or guidance on the genetic changes allowed under Regulation 2(2) (a) of the draft Statutory Instrument The Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022.

Jo Churchill: The Government is taking a step wise approach to revising how we regulate the use of organisms developed using genetic technologies such as gene editing where the end product could have been produced by traditional breeding methods, which will include the development of guidance to inform this process.

Packaging: Recycling

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact on businesses of the increase in price of Packaging Recycling Notes; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: I understand the challenges the increase in glass re-melt Packaging Recovery pose for some businesses. We have had discussions with industry and regulators to understand the reasons for the increase and to understand their implications. As the UK operates a market-based system, price fluctuations are expected when there are supply issues – with the increased value motivating more activity by operators, and consequently increased reprocessing. This in turn makes it easier to meet recycling targets and so prices will be driven back down, which was the situation at the end of 2021.

Air Pollution: Kent

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the changes to (a) air quality and (b) CO2 emissions in (i) Dover and (ii) the surrounding areas over the last three years; and if he will publish the data the Government holds on those levels for each month of the last three years.

Jo Churchill: There is one locally managed automatic monitoring site located in Dover, measuring roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM10). Data from this site can be obtained directly from the Local Authority or from the UK Air Website, through the following URL: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/datawarehouse CO2 concentrations are not measured by any Defra managed monitoring networks. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, are estimated via the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, available through the following URL: https://naei.beis.gov.uk/data/

Air Pollution

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government response to the Ella Adoo-Kissi Debrah Coroner’s report published in June 2021, when his Department plans to open its public consultation on new legal targets for PM2.5 and other pollutants.

Jo Churchill: We will shortly publish a public consultation on the proposed legally-binding targets to be set under the Environment Act 2021 framework, including for air quality. The targets will then be brought forward in secondary legislation by 31 October 2022.

Women and Equalities

Conversion Therapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which groups her Department has met during the consultation period on legislation to ban conversion therapy.

Mike Freer: I am engaging with a wide range of stakeholders who hold different views in relation to conversion practices, as are officials. We continue to consult extensively with stakeholders across the spectrum including victims, representatives from a range of religions, LGBT groups, clinicians, medical regulatory professionals, and parent groups. Our public consultation will close on 4th February and I urge all those with an interest to respond. In this way and with our wider engagement with the full range of stakeholders, victims and members of the public, we will ensure the ban is effective in ending different forms of conversion therapy.